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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY 

BY 

THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 



ELEMENTS 

OF 

PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY 



BY 

The Brothers of the Christian Schools 




NEW YORK 

La Salle Bureau of Supplies 

50 second street 

1905 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 26 1905 

Copyrifftit Entry 

CLASS Ok, XXc. No. 

/; A/7/ 
COPY B. 



Copyright, 1905, 
By peter MUTH 






PREFACE. 

Education is often assumed to be mainly a process by 
which knowledge is communicated or acquired. It is, 
indeed, all this and much more, for it aims at developing the 
powers of the mind, training the will, and forming character. 
A work on education must, therefore, include the elements 
of psychology and ethics as well as a detailed account of 
the canons of pedagogy and accepted methods of teaching. 
In the following pages, principles are stated and discussed 
in connection with the practical treatment of the elementary 
branches taught in the class-room. Where the abstract is 
introduced, the concrete application immediately follows. 

As the school is to be a nursery of good citizenship, moral 
teaching accompanies the intellectual, the conscience being 
formed in accordance with the precepts of religion. 

Attention has been paid to the vitally important subject 
of hygiene in order that the teacher may be fully alive to his 
responsibihties in regard to the well-being and comfort of 
his youthful charges. The value of gymnastics and physical 
drill as aids in the art of education, has not been overlooked. 

Though the present volume is necessarily small, it is 
believed that no subject of importance has been omitted. 
A fuller development will be given in a compendious work 
on pedagogy which is in course of preparation and which 
will be ready for pubhcation early in the summer. 

New York, November, 1905. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

Nature and objects of Pedagogy xxi 

Importance of Pedagogy. Divisions of this book . xxii 



PART I.— EDUCATION. 

CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON EDUCATION. 

I. Necessity and Excellence i 

Education is an indispensable and meritorious work. 
Means of education. Unity and complexity of 
education. 

II. General Principles of Education .... 3 

CHAPTER II. 
PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 

1. Physical Activity: its necessity .... 4 

II. Hygienic Precautions 4 

School hygiene. Precautions against contagious 
diseases. 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 
INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. 

PAGE 

I. Hygiene and Education of the Senses . . 6 
Its object. Education of sight, hearing, taste, and 
touch. 

II. Attention 8 

Nature and importance of attention and reflection. 
Means of exciting and developing attention. 

III. Memory g 

Quahties of a good memory. Exercise of the mem- 
ory. 

IV. Association of Ideas ii 

Principles. Practical counsels. 

V. Imagination: its discipline 13 

VI. Judgment and Reasoning 14 

Ideas, judgments; good sense, reasoning — induc- 
tive and deductive. 

CHAPTER IV. 
EDUCATION OF THE MORAL SENSIBILITY. 

I. General Notions 16 

Inclinations, feelings, passions. 

II. Training of the Moral Inclinations ... 18 

Personal, social, higher. 

CHAPTER V. 

TRAINING OF CONSCIENCE. 

Importance and Necessity of Forming the Con- 
science. End to be Attained. Means to 
BE Employed 22 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTER VI. 
EDUCATION OF THE WILL. 

PAGE 

I. £nd to be Attained 24 

The will should influence the whole man: physical 
activity, senses, imagination, attention, memory, 
inclinations, and character. 

II. Means to be Employed 26 

General rules. Particular applications. 

CHAPTER VII. 
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 

I. End to be Attained 28 

The development and strengthening of religious con- 
victions and Christian virtues. 

II. Means 29 

Instruction, example, supernatural spirit. 



PART II.— THE SCHOOL AND ITS 
ORGANIZATION. 

CHAPTER L 
MATERIAL ORGANIZATION. 

I. School Premises 31 

Position of schools. Size of the class-room. 

II. Furniture of the Class-rooms .... 32 
Teaching apparatus, museum, desks, black-boards, 
library. 



VIU CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. 

PAGE 

I. Admission of Pupils 34 

Age of admission. Arrangements for admission, 

II. Opening of School 35 

Entrance of pupils and of teachers. 

III. Dismissal of Pupils 36 

Method of dismissal. Superintendence after dis- 
missal. 

IV. Attendances and Absences 36 

Special remarks. Means of preventing absences. 

V. Holidays and Vacations 37 

Annual vacations and counsels to be given to the 
pupils. Reopening of school. 

CHAPTER III. 

RULES RELATING TO GOOD EDUCATION AND 
GENERAL ORDER. 

I. Duties of Pupils Toward Their Teachers . . 39 
Respect and submission. 

II. Duties of Pupils Toward Their Companions . 40 
Kindness, politeness, respect. 

III. Silence and Deportment 41 

Times and places where silence is obligatory. De- 
portment during lessons. 

IV. Order and Cleanliness 42 

Personal cleanliness, care of class requisites, books, 
and exercises. Cleanliness of class-rooms and 
school. 

V. Employments to be Entrusted to Pupils . . 44 
Ringing the bell, superintendence, sweeping; door- 
keeping. 



CONTENTS. IX 



PART III.— ORGANIZATION OF 
TEACHING. 

CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON TEACHING. 

PAGE 

I. End of Teaching 48 

Teaching and instruction, their relative importance. 

II. Characteristics of Good Teaching ... 50 
(i) Rational; (2) adapted to the intelHgence of the 
children; (3) Hving and active; (4) slowly progres- 
sive, repeated, applied to exercises, and checked 
by questioning; (5) constant in methods; (6) prac- 
tical; (7) moral and Christian. 

CHAPTER II. 

DIVISIONS AND PROGRAMMES. 

I. Classes and Grades 54 

Number of classes in a school. Grades: primary, 
lower and higher grammar grades, and high 
school. Manner in which these grades are or- 
ganized in schools of from two to six classes. 
The preparatory class. 

II. Programmes 57 

Particulars of the programme for primary schools. 
The adaptation of a programme for two grades 
in the same class. 

CHAPTER III. 

TIME-TABLES. 

I. General Principles for the Making of School 

Time-tables. Specimen Time-tables . . 58 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 
OFFICIAL REGISTERS AND PUPILS' EXERCISE BOOKS. 

PAGE 

I. Official Registers 6i 

Register of entrance. Report-book, roll-book. 

II. Books for the Use of the Teacher ... 62 
The register of competitions, class memorandum, 
book for notes of preparation of lessons, memorial. 

III. The Pupils' Exercise-books 64 

The number of copybooks. The general copy- 
book. 

CHAPTER V. 

MODES AND METHODS OF TEACHING. 

I. Modes of Teaching 65 

The individual, the simultaneous, the mutual, and 
the mutual simultaneous. 

II. Methods of Teaching 66 

The dogmatic method, the inventive method, the 
heuristic process. 

III. Analysis and Synthesis 70 

Experimental and rational; choice of analysis or 
synthesis; their union in a lesson. 

CHAPTER VI. 

GENERAL PROCESSES OF TEACHING. 

I. Explanatory Processes 73 

Intuitive and experimental processes. Use of the 
black-board. 

11. Written and Oral Processes 74 

Written exercises. Correction of exercises. Ques- 
tions. Recapitulations. Monthly examinations. 
Oral examinations at the end of the scholastic 
year. 



CONTENTS, XI 

CHAPTER VII. 
THE ORAL LESSON. 

PAGE 

I. Preparation of the Lesson 8i 

(i) General and remote: studies and training of the 
teacher. Pedagogical conferences. (2) Immedi- 
ate and special its necessity. Preparation of the 
subject-matter. Pedagogical preparation. Prep- 
aration of illustrations. 

II. The Lesson Proper 84 

General directions: (i) to have method; (2) to ques- 
tion the pupils as much as possible and accustom 
them to answering; (3) to express oneself with 
ease and correctness; remarks on lessons in dif- 
ferent divisions. Introduction and conclusion of 
lessons. Definitions and principles. 

III. Exercises and Study 88 

Their necessity. Study from the text-books, 

CHAPTER Vin. 

EXERCISES OF MEMORY. 

I. General Considerations 89 

Nature of memory exercises. Their importance. 

II, Textual Studies 91 

Explanation of lessons to be studied literally. 
Method of studying literally. Literal study in 
the primary classes. Interrogations and recita- 
tions. 

III. Study of Selected Extracts 93 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PART IV.— THE TEACHING OF THE 

DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF 

THE PROGRAMME. 

CHAPTER I. 
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 

PAGE 

I. Faculties and Principles 94 

II. Division of the Programme 96 

Preparatory, primary, lower and higher grammar 
grades. 

III. The General Method of Conducting a Lesson 

in Christian Doctrine 97 

Explanation of the text by sub-questions and short 
developments. Examples, counsels, final recap- 
itulation and exhortation. 

IV. Remarks Concerning the Different Divisions ioi 

Catechism for young children. Catechism for the 
first communion. Catechism after the first com- 
munion. 

V. Advice to the Teacher of Catechism . . . 104 
Preparation of the catechism. Faults to be avoided. 

VI. The Obligation and Way of Making Children 

Love Religion Through the Catechism . 106 

VII. Prayers 108 

Explanation and study of prayers. 

VIII. Sacred History and the Gospel . . . .109 
The lesson in sacred history to young children and 
to pupils of the lower grammar grades. Explana- 
tion and study of the gospel. 

IX. Specimen Developments no 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

CHAPTER II. 
READING. 

PAGE 

I. Faculties and Principles 121 

II. Methods of Teaching Reading . . . .121 
Analytic and synthetic methods. 

III. The Reading Lesson IN THE Preparatory Classes 125 

Means of maintaining the attention of the pupils. 
Exercises in writing and dictation taught simulta- 
neously with reading. Manner of conducting an 
elementary reading lesson. The reading tablets 
and primers. 

IV. Reading in the Primary and Lower Grammar 

Classes 131 

Mechanical reading. Explanation of the lesson. 
Specimen explanation. 

V. Reading in the Higher Grammar Grades . . 136 
Mechanical and expressive reading. Explanation 
of the lesson. 

CHAPTER III. 
WRITING. 

I. Faculties and Principles 140 

II. Directions for Teaching Writing . . .140 
The end to be attained. The two means: the writing 
lesson, and constancy in exacting that all exer- 
cises done by pupils should be carefully written. 
Method and processes of teaching: models, traced 
copybooks, head-line copybooks. General re- 
marks on writing in primary classes. Use of 
slates. Figures. 

III. General Principles of Writing .... 144 
The position of the body, the hand, and the copy- 
book; way of holding the pen; regularity in the 
height and slope of the writing. 



LV CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

IV. The Writing Lesson 146 

Explanation of principles by the teacher. Princi- 
ples. Specimen lesson. Application of these 
principles by the pupils. Correction of writing. 
Qualities of good penmanship. Defects in pen- 
manship, and their causes. Methods of correct- 
ing writing. 

V. Book-keeping 152 

Importance. Programme and method. 

Shorthand 153 

Utility for pupils and teachers. Remarks on teach- 
ing. Method of conducting lessons. 

Typewriting 156 



CHAPTER IV. 
LANGUAGE. 

I. Faculties and Principles 156 

II. Exercises in Language and Vocabulary . - 157 
Their object. The chief means. 

III. Grammar and Grammatical Exercises . . .160 

Grammar lesson: two processes. Analysis in 
primary, lower and higher grammar grades. Speci- 
men lessons. Exercises on conjugations. 

IV. Orthography 170 

Processes of teaching orthography in primary, lower 
and higher grammar grades. Dictation: how to 
give it and how to correct it. Specimen les- 
sons. 

V. Compositions 177 

The methods of giving composition in primary, 
lower and higher grammar grades. Specimen 
plans. Correction of composition. 



CONTENTS. XV 

PAGE 

VI. Study of Selected Texts 185 

Choice of selections for study. Preparatory, prim- 
ary, lower and higher grammar grades. Speci- 
men explanations. 



CHAPTER V. 
OBJECT LESSONS AND ELEMENTARY SCIENCE. 
I. Faculties and Principles 191 

IT General Suggestions on Object Lessons . .191 
Their character; an introduction to experimental 
science by means of familiar conversations. Sub- 
jects to be treated. Processes, preparation, educa- 
tional results. 

III. Method of Conducting the Lesson . . . 193 

General outlines. Specimen object lesson for the 
primary grades; elementary science lessons for 
the lower and higher grammar grades. 

IV. Remarks on the Adaptation of Object Lessons 196 

Adaptation of the same subject to the primary, lower 
and higher grammar grades. Adaptation of ob- 
ject lessons to local wants. 

CHAPTER VI. 
HISTORY. 
I. Faculties and Principles 199 

II. Programme 199 

Primary, lower and higher grammar grades. Local 
history. 

III. The History Lesson 201 

Method of conducting the lesson. Adaptation of the 
general method to the primary grades; to the 



XVI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

lower and higher grammar grades. Local history. 
Use of a text-book. Use of maps. Recapitula- 
tions and revisions. Ethical value of history. 

IV. Plans for Notes 204 

V. Teaching of Civil Government (Civics) . . 207 
Its utility and the manner of teaching it. 

CHAPTER VII. 
GEOGRAPHY. 

I. Faculties and Principles 208 

II. Suggestions Concerning the Method of Teach- 
ing Geography 209 

The lesson, geographical apparatus. Map-draw- 
ing. Details and nomenclatures. 

III. Geography in the Different Divisions . .211 

Geographical terms; district and county geography. 
Middle division; programme; remarks on the 
orographical study of a country, and on the 
study of river systems. Geography for the higher 
grades. Geography and history combined. 

IV. Plans of Lessons 214 

CHAPTER VIII. 
ARITHMETIC. 

I. Faculties and Principles 217 

II. Oral and Written Calculations . . . .218 
Addition. Subtraction. Multiplication and division. 

III. Mental Arithmetic 221 

Nature and importance. Mental calculations in 
primary, lower and higher grammar grades. Re- 
marks. 



CONTENTS. XVI 1 



IV. Arithmetic Lesson 223 

Preparatory class: notation and numeration. Pri- 
mary grades: notation, numeration, and explana- 
tions on the four rules. Tables. Lower and 
higher grammar grades: method of conducting 
the lesson. 

V. Problems 230 

Typical problems. Advice to be given to the pupils 
for the solution of problems. 

VI. Specimen Solutions 232 



CHAPTER IX. 
ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY AND MENSURATION. 

Instruction in Preparatory and Primary Grades 236 

Examples of Instruction in Lower and Higher 
Grammar Grades 237 

CHAPTER X. 
DRAWING. 

I. Faculties and Principles 241 

11. General Observations 242 

Aim of drawing in the primary school. Char- 
acteristics of a good method. 

III. Models for Drawing 243 

Diagrams on the black-board. Wall charts. Book 
of designs. Objects from nature. 

IV. Methods of Teaching 245 

Figure on the black-board drawn and explained. 
Models explained briefly at the beginning of the 
lesson. Model from the pupils' book of designs 
explained before being reproduced. 



XVIU CONTENTS. 



V. Drawing in the Different Grades . . . 246 
Programme. Primary, lower and higher grammar 
grades. The annual exhibit of drawings in the 
school. 

VI. Kindergarten 251 

Gifts, object lessons, drawing on dotted paper. 
Association of lessons. 

VII. Manual Work 254 

Manual work, auxiUary and complementary to 
drawing. Hints for manual work in the different 
classes. 



CHAPTER XI. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Aim and Character of Agricultural Teaching 
IN the Primary School 255 

The Agricultural Museum 256 

The Lesson in Agriculture . . . • . - 256 

Agriculture in the Primary, Lower and High- 
er Grammar Grades 258 

CHAPTER XII. 

SINGING. 

I. Faculties and Principles 259 

II. General Remarks on the Teaching of Singing . 260 
Its educational use. Religious chant: liturgical 
chant and hymns. Profane music. 

III. The Singing Lesson 262 

Remarks relative to good execution. The lesson 
in preparatory and elementary divisions; in higher 
grades. Hints for the singing lesson. Musical 
dictation. 



CONTENTS. XIX 

CHAPTER XIII. 
PHYSICAL DRILL. 

PAGE 

I. Faculties and Principles 267 

II. General Considerations 268 

Function and utility of gymnastics. Practical re- 
marks on lessons in gymnastics. 

III. Teaching of Drill 269 

Preparatory and elementary classes. Higher 
grades. The lesson. 



PART v.— DISCIPLINE. 

CHAPTER I. 

AUTHORITY OF THE TEACHER. 

I. Nature and Foundation of the Teacher's Au- 
thority 272 

A truly educational authority is a moral authority. 
It has for foundation: the esteem, respect, and 
affection of the pupils for the teachers; the art 
of commanding; and the cooperation of the par- 
ents. 

II. Precautions Against the Weakening of Au- 
thority 276 

To remove all that might lessen the respect due to 
the teacher; to remove what might lead to dis- 
order; and to make use of signals. 

CHAPTER II. 

EMULATION. 

I. General Considerations on Emulation , . 279 
Nature and object; necessity and aim. 



XX CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

II. Means of Exciting Emulation . . . .281 
(i) Encouragement; (2) taking places in class; (3) 
formation of rival camps; (4) privileges or good 
marks; (5) the weekly and monthly certificates of 
merit; (6) honorary distinctions, right of request- 
ing pardon, medal of honor, inscription on roll 
of honor; (7) rewards and prizes. 



CHAPTER III. 

SUPERVISION. 

1. General Considerations 289 

Nature and necessity of supervision. Qualities of 
effective supervision. 

II. Exercise of Supervision 291 

Supervision in class; and out of class. 

CHAPTER IV. 

REPRESSION. 

I. General Considerations 293 

Nature and modes of repression. Opportuneness 
of correction. 

II. Means of Repression 294 

Ordinary punishments, admonitions; reprimands; 
threats; taking away good notes, giving bad notes; 
standing in a place apart; tasks; apology. In- 
timation given to the parents, temporary dismissal, 
expulsion. 

III. Conditions of Correction 297 

Conditions on the part of the teacher; on the part 
of the pupil. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Nature and Objects of Pedagogy. Pedagogy is the 
science and art of education and teaching. Its object 
is twofold: to state the general principles that govern 
the normal development of the physical, intellectual, 
moral, religious, and social life of the child; and to show 
how these general principles are applied in school by 
the best methods and management. 

Teaching and education are bound together as means 
and end: teaching enriches the mind with various 
branches of knowledge; education develops the facul- 
ties, and inclines the soul to the practice of good. Hence, 
though taking them separately, the better to study their 
details, pedagogy does not lose sight of their necessary 
union in the action of the teacher with regard to the 
child he has to instruct and educate. 

Importance of Pedagogy. The craftsman learns his 
trade; the painter and the sculptor never neglect the 
theory for the practice of their respective arts, even 
though they may have attained the highest eminence in 
their avocations. But no craftsman, ''painter, sculp- 
tor, or any other artist, attains the eminence of him who 



INTRODUCTION. 

knows how to train youth." ' The educator would then 
fail in his duty were he to neglect to study the means 
of becoming skilful in his noble profession, or cease his 
endeavors to perfect himself more and more. 

It is an undeniable fact that natural aptitude, the 
desire for good, the ardor of devotedness, and personal 
initiative do not usually suffice to make a good teacher. 
These happy dispositions need to be directed, and their 
exercise must be made fruitful by the experience of those 
who have practised the art of education. The study 
of serious pedagogical works, and the advice of enlight- 
ened guides, together with daily observation and reflec- 
tion, are the means the teacher must make use of if he 
would advance in his art — an art in which even the most 
skilful will every day find something new to learn. 

The present work specially insists on the application 
of principles— hence its title: "Elements of Practical 
Pedagogy." It is divided into five parts: 

Part I. — Education. 

Part II. — The School and School Regulations. 

Part III. — Organization of Teaching. 

Part IV. — The Specialties of the Programme. 

Part V. — Discipline. 

1 St. John Chrysostom. 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL 
PEDAGOGY. 

PART L 
EDUCATION. 

According to the general acceptation of the word, 
education is a stimulation and direction of the free activ- 
ity of man, to lead him to acquire the perfection suitable 
to his nature; it is the continual unfolding of his powers 
and faculties, until he has realized the natural and super- 
natural ideal which God has assigned to him. In pro- 
portion as man reahzes this ideal, he attains his end: to 
know God, to love and serve Him in this world, and by 
this means to attain heaven. 

To educate a child is to favor the complete develop- 
ment of the gifts which God has bestowed on him; to 
form in him the man and the Christian, by habituating 
him to act only through motives of reason and faith; to 
excite, protect, and direct the expansion of his faculties, 
until when left to his own initiative, he can conduct 
himself in accordance with the prescriptions of duty and 
the maxims of the Gospel. 

Education has principles: it is a professional duty for 
teachers to know them and to deduce their pedagogi- 
cal applications. These principles are fully treated in 
special works on psychology, logic, ethics, and hygiene. 
The " Elements of Practical Pedagogy," an essentially 
practical handbook, only formulates them briefly, but it de- 
velops their more important applications. 



a ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON EDUCATION. 

I. — Necessity and Excellence. 

Education is a necessary work: the child, if left to 
himself, would neither be able to develop his intellectual 
faculties, nor direct his will and desires according to 
order. It is an excellent work, since he who devotes 
himself to it exercises one of the noblest offices of the 
Christian apostleship. It is also a most meritorious 
work, on account of the cares and duties which it in- 
volves, and the virtues and quaHties which it requires in 
the teacher.^ 

The means which the educator has at his disposal are: 
(i) Teaching; (2) initiation of the pupils in the practices 
of a Christian life; (3) superintendence; (4) good exam- 
ple; (s) prayer. 

Unity and complexity of education. Education is one 
in its object: the whole man has to be formed by the 
progressive and simultaneous development of all the 
resources of his nature. It is complex because it has 
both soul and body for its object: under this aspect edu- 
cation is physical, intellectual, moral, and rehgious. 

Physical education superintends and assists the de- 
velopment of the body, by hygienic precautions and 
exercises selected with discernment. 

Intellectual education is applied to perfecting and 
directing the means of learning, viz., the senses and the 
understanding. It exercises the memory, the imagina- 
tion, and the reason, and increases the powers of atten- 
tion and observation. 

» A little treatise on the Virtues and Qimlities 0} a Teacher has been 
pubUshed in a separate volume. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON EDUCATION. 3 

Moral and religious education tends to make the child 
a practical Christian. It helps him to preserve the grace 
of God, and to develop the supernatural gifts received 
in baptism; strengthens his convictions by the study of 
Catholic doctrine; fortifies good inclinations and virtu- 
ous habits; reacts against irregular tendencies, and im- 
parts uprightness and constancy to the will. It includes 
the education of the moral sense of conscience and of will. 

II. — General Principles of Education. 

Every teacher should be thoroughly familiar with 
the following principles: 

1. Man is a perfectible being. Under the influence of 
education he develops his physical capabilities and men- 
tal faculties, and increases his knowledge; and, if he 
employs the proper means, he may add indefinitely to 
his moral perfection. 

2. The child is not born good; although he has good 
dispositions, yet he has also strong incHnations to evil. 

3. The educator should adapt his action to the order 
which nature follows in the development of the child's 
faculties. He must then know this order, and, more- 
over, study the temperament, the aptitudes, and the 
character of each of his pupils, that he may vary his in- 
structions accordingly. 

4. Many influences should concur in the education of 
the child: home surroundings, good example given by 
companions, the instructions and prayers of the teacher, 
and the ministry of the priest. 

5. Religion is at once the foundation and the com- 
pletion of moral education. Children should be spoken 
to about God, and taught how to unite themselves to 
Him by prayer and the reception of the sacraments. 
All education is incomplete and radically defective that 
does not take into account the supernatural destiny of 
the child and the means of attaining it. 

6. Every true educator will aim at guiding the, phys- 
ical, intellectual, and volitional activity of his pupils. 



4 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

While trying to make them choose freely what is good, 
he will exercise them in those actions of which they ought 
to acquire a habit. 

7. A child must learn to regulate his thoughts and 
feeHngs, in order to govern his words and actions prop- 
erly. 

8. The teacher is placed before his pupils as a model 
for their imitation; hence his conduct should be for them 
a continual incentive to good. 



CHAPTER II. 
PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 

Physical education comprises the exercise of physi- 
cal activity and the hygienic precautions necessary for 
health. 

I. — Exercise of Physical Activity. 

1. In the class-room children must not be left too long 
in a position of muscular repose. The teacher should 
have them change their attitude frequently. 

2. The pupils should receive instruction in elementary 
gymnastics without apparatus, consisting principally in 
simple movements and marches. 

3. The teacher should encourage interest in games at 
recreation time, and exercise an active vigilance to pre- 
vent accidents. 

4. The children should be made to understand that 
though it is good to join with enthusiasm in games, they 
ought not to carry them so far as to render them inju- 
rious to health. Physical activity, like everything else, 
must be directed by reason and will. 

II. — Hygienic Precautions. 

School hygiene, i. An abundance of pure air is indis- 
pensable to man. To procure good air the school should 
be situated at a distance from unsanitary surroundings. 



PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 5 

2. Frequent ventilation of the class-rooms is necessary 
for the health of the pupils, particularly in winter when 
stoves are used. Keeping the windows closed too long 
tends to make the children sleepy, to keep them weak, 
and to favor the propagation of contagious diseases. 

3. In winter, the temperature should never be allowed 
to go higher than from fifty-five to sixty degrees Fah- 
renheit. 

4. During the lessons, the air might be renewed by 
opening either the ventilators, the fan-Hghts, or the win- 
dows at one side of the class-room; but draughts ought 
not to be caused. 

5. Pupils should hang their overcoats in the cloak- 
room, and clean their shoes before going into the class- 
room. 

6. The pupils must not be allowed to wear caps, over- 
coats, or mufflers in the class-room. 

7. The class-room should be kept perfectly clean: 
the floor, by daily sweeping, periodical washing, and use 
of disinfectants; the wainscoting, walls, and ceiling, by 
frequent dusting. 

8. The out offices should be kept clean by the use of 
water and disinfectants. 

9. It would be imprudent to refuse the children 
to leave the class-room to satisfy the demands of na- 
ture. 

10. The school furniture ought to be so constructed 
that the pupils may not be obhged to take uncomfortable 
postures, particularly at writing. 

11. If the pupils come from a distance to attend 
school, and bring their mid-day meal, they should be 
allowed facihties to eat it comfortably. 

Precautions against contagious diseases, i. Children 
who cannot certify that they have been vaccinated, or 
revaccinated, if the local rules require it, should not be 
received into the school. 

2. Children who have had infectious diseases, such as 
small-pox, measles, scarlatina, chicken-pox, influenza, 
croup or diphtheria, rfiumps, ringworm, itch, scrofula, 



6 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

should not be allowed to return to school until they have 
received a certificate of health from a medical doctor. 

3. Children having diseases contagious by imitation, 
such as epilepsy, Saint Vitus' dance, or nervous convul- 
sions, ought also to be excluded from school. 



CHAPTER III. 

INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. 

I. — Hygiene and Education of the Senses. 

Hygiene of the senses consists in the precautions to be 
taken to preserve the regular working of their organs.^ 

The general object of the education of the senses is: 
(i) To increase the capacity and perfection of each of 
them, in the order of its proper stimulus or perceptions; 
(2) to extend the acquired or common perceptions in 
which several senses and faculties are involved;^ (3) to 
teach children not to allow themselves to be dominated 
by their sensations, and the agreeable or disagreeable 
feelings which accompany them. 

The education of the senses is carried on by exercise, 
and reasoning from experience. This education is very 
important, since the senses are means of acquiring knowl- 
edge. The teacher should attend to the following sug- 
gestions: 

1 Hygiene of the senses relates more to physical than to intellectual 
education. These remarks, however, are placed in this chapter to group 
together what relates to the senses and their organs. 

2 The proper stimulus of sight is light, whence is derived the perception 
of color, which implies perception of limited extension. In examining a 
peach the sensation of sight tells me only its form and color. But this 
sensation is not isolated: previously I touched, smelled, and tasted peaches; 
at the sight of the peach I immediately recall and experience the associated 
sensations which I previously experienced. Moreover, reason interprets 
these sensations — recalled, imagined, associated; and by induction it con- 
cludes that the fruit is a peach. Thus the perception of sight is completed 
and extended by acquired perceptions in which memory (recalling previous 
perceptions of taste, touch, and smell), association, imagination, and induc- 
tion intervene. 



INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. 7 

Sight. I. Avoid what would cause long or strained 
application of the eyes; hence the books used by the 
children, especially by the younger children, ought to be 
printed in large black letters, and the paper might be 
tinted rather than very white. 

2. Recommend the children to hold their books at a 
distance of about fourteen inches from their eyes when 
reading. 

3. See that the light in the class-room is sufficient 
but not too strong, and that the pupils receive it not from 
the front, but from left to right. The coloring of the walls 
should be neither too bright nor too dark, but rather a 
pale unpolished green; in summer, curtains may be used 
to protect the pupils from the dazzling glare of the sun. 

4. See that the surface of the black-board be of a dead 
tone and all wall charts and pictures in use in the class- 
room be so placed as to receive good light. 

5. Place weak-sighted and myopic pupils near the 
maps and black-board. 

6. Exercise the sense of sight during drawing-lessons, 
by getting the pupils to estimate the height, form, color, 
position, and distance of objects. 

Hearing, i. Place near the teacher the pupils who 
are a little deaf. 

2. Train both the ear and the voice by exercise in 
declamation, singing, and vocalization. 

3. Prevent piercing and harsh noises from coming 
suddenly and unexpectedly on the pupils. 

4. Never allow the children to put any hard or pointed 
object into their ears; recommend them to keep these 
organs very clean. 

Taste and touch, i. Education of the taste is not 
carried on at school. The pupils may be told that the 
will should intervene to discourage all gluttony and in- 
temperance in the use of food. 

2. By daily inspection, the teacher will be able to 
insure perfect cleanliness of faces and hands. The chil- 
dren must often be reminded of the necessity of keeping 



8 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

the skin clean; cleanliness is one of the conditions of 
health, and a duty imposed by our social relations. 

II. — ^Attention. 

Attention in education is a voluntary act by which the 
intellect is concentrated on an object, in order to study it. 
It places the faculties in conditions favorable for their 
exercise: hence the teacher should stimulate it in the 
children; but he must especially lead them to give it 
spontaneously and continuously. 

Reflection is the act of concentrating the intellect on 
itself and its own operations. Attentive study is made 
without distraction — or at least voluntary distraction; 
reflective study is accompanied by a kind of meditation. 
Only gradually do children become capable of reflection; 
in proportion to the amount of reflection, the minds 
of children acquire that seriousness which makes for 
success in study. The capacity of an intellect may be 
judged better by its power of reflection, which varies 
very much with different pupils, than by its facility in 
understanding. 

1. The first care of the teacher should be to remove by 
forethought and watchfulness all cause of distraction 
to the children; such as giddiness, thoughtlessness, ver- 
biage, dreaming, occupations irrelevant to the lesson, 
idleness, and uncertainty as to what should be done. 

2. The attention of the pupils is sustained in propor- 
tion to the extent to which their interest is excited, and 
their intellectual activity exercised; hence the lessons 
should be well prepared, given with animation and 
method, enlivened by Socratic questions and intuitive 
processes.^ 

3. Care should be taken not to call the attention of 
children to too many things at once, above all if they are 

1 Socratic questions are those that lead the children to find out by reflec- 
tion the fact which one wishes to teach them. Intuitive processes consist 
principally in placing before the pupils an object to sustain their attention: 
it is instruction by object lessons. 



INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. Q 

not familiar, and the explanation presents some diffi- 
culty. 

4. In object lessons and the explanation of pictures, 
the pupils ought to be accustomed to analyze the objects 
by passing from the general view to an examination of 
details. 

5. If the lessons are short and varied, the written 
exercises neither too long nor too difficult, and if the 
teacher appears interested in what he is explaining, and 
has the talent to show its practical use, he will develop 
the power of attention in his pupils. 

6. In order that attention may not flag during the 
lessons, a question may be addressed, now and then, to 
the whole class; then one pupil is called upon to answer 
it: in this way inattentive children are often taken by 
surprise. 

7. Written exercises in grammar and lexicology, com- 
position and mathematics, together with Socratic ques- 
tions, are the best means to strengthen the habit of re- 
flection in children. 

8. As a child grows older he must be made to under- 
stand that he should apply himself to everything with 
attention and reflection, less through a hope of reward 
than to contract a habit of serious work. 

III. — Memory. 

Memory is the power which the mind has of pre- 
serving and reproducing notions that have been acquired; 
it recalls them either singly or in groups and series. 

The qualities of a good memory are: quickness in 
learning, fidelity in retaining, rapidity and certainty in 
recalling, and the power of preserving the different ideas 
confided to it. Among children there is a much smaller 
number of bad memories than of memories not exer- 
cised; and since this faculty is capable of its greatest 
activity in youth, care should be taken to cultivate it 
with method and discretion. The rational culture of 
the memory is given by different processes, which are 



lO ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

often only a practical application of this law: ''The 
preservation of facts is correct and lasting in proportion 
to 'the vividness and clearness of the first impressions; 
the frequent repetition of the facts; and the close asso- 
ciation or the logical connection of these ideas with other 
ideas." 

The teacher should attend to the following sugges- 
tions: 

1. According to the age of the children, exercise si- 
multaneously the sensile memory, or that of sensible 
objects; the verbal memory, or that of words; and the 
intellective memory, or that of ideas. 

2. Lest the verbal memory be developed at the ex- 
pense of the intellective, bring the lessons within the 
capacity of the children who are to learn them; and 
never present portions of a text-book for study until the 
ideas and words have been fully explained. 

3. Never encumber the memory in trying to enrich it, 
but aim at order, choice, and suitability in the lessons 
given, and the studies which follow them; deduce from 
the mass of details the general ideas which coordinate, 
and summarize them. 

4. Increase the power of voluntary attention, and be 
ingenious in renewing this attention during each of the 
school exercises. 

5. Help the memory by sight, hearing, and touch, 
and thus multiply the number of associations relating to 
the same idea: join fhe transcription of a text with the 
reading of it; show an object, have it touched, have the 
color, form, and details of it distinguished; make use 
of maps, engravings, and specimens from the school 
museum. 

6. Show the logical connection which the ideas relat- 
ing to the same subject have with one another, by uniting 
them in the form of a synoptical table; in history show 
the simultaneity of events, by presenting them under the 
form of synchronical tables. 

7. Make the pupils acquire many ideas by personal 
work; these they will retain more easily, and the remem- 
brance will remain more persistently. 



INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. II 

8. Specify every day something to be learned literally, 
increasing the extent of it little by little, without making 
it too long or too difficult. 

9. Pay more attention to the correctness of the recita- 
tion than to the rapidity of the study. 

10. Have frequent recapitulations and reviews. 

IV. — Association of Ideas. 

Principles. Association is a law of memory by virtue 
of which each of our ideas or thought-pictures calls up 
several others that were at some former time united with 
it in the mind. The following are examples of the prin- 
cipal relations that cause ideas to associate: 

Logical relation of cause to effect, and effect to cause. 

The thought of God recalls the idea of His goodness. 
The sight of a crucifix is associated with the idea of our 
Redeemer's infinite love. 

Relation of principle to consequence, arid inversely. 

A temptation awakens the idea of the remorse which 
would follow the fault, and the severe judgment of God. 
An upright life suggests the high principles directing it. 

Relation of means to end, and inversely. The accom- 
plishment of good is made easy by the thought of God's 
glory. The thought of an examination recalls the pre- 
paratory studies. 

Relation of contiguity in time and space. The re- 
membrance of the school recalls the devotedness of the 
teachers; meeting an old companion brings back the 
memories of student days. The thought of home re- 
vives the appearance of its surroundings, and of the 
native land. 

Accidental relations of similarity and contrast. The 

face of a certain person reminds one of another; war 
recalls peace. 

Arbitrary or conventional relations. Emblems are 
generally of such a nature. Thus the violet is accepted 



12 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

as an emblem of modesty — but any other flower might 
have been chosen. Justice is represented under the 
form of a woman holding a balance in equilibrium. 

It is especially by the arbitrary and accidental rela- 
tions of similarity, contrast, interest, and contiguity in 
space and time that children retain, and hence they have 
a very superficial memory. By the logical relations of 
cause and effect, principle and consequence, means and 
end, substance and accident, the memory brings back 
within itself the real natural connections of things; it 
acquires consistency, strength, and unity, and the col- 
lection of its recollections is raised to the dignity of 
science. This, however, is the effect, not of sensile 
but of intellective memory. Repetition and interest are 
great aids in making associations permanent. 

In the speculative order, association is either true or 
false. It is true if the ideas are bound together logically; 
but false, if reason or faith does not admit them. In the 
practical order, association is good or bad. It is good if 
the union of the two ideas forms one proposition that is 
morally sound; as virtue and happiness. Christian life 
and sacrifice, success and work. It is bad or dangerous 
if the union of the ideas forms an erroneous principle; 
as, youth and right to guilty enjoyments, virtue and un- 
happiness, means justified by the end. 

Practical advice, i. In the moral order the habit of 
true association of ideas disposes the will to virtue; the 
habit of false association inclines it to vice. Hence the 
educator should: (a) Inculcate on his pupils the moral 
principles and their practical consequences; {h) eradicate 
from their minds false or dangerous associations; (c) 
lead them to avoid the usual causes of false association, 
such as bad books and vicious companions. 

2. In intellectual education true association is not less 
necessary; it depends partly on the habit of promptly 
associating ideas according to their logical relations. 
Reasoning on questions of science, history, or geog- 
raphy, is introduced by logical associations; in written 
composition, amplification by enumeration of parts, or 



INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. 1 3 

by the showing of causes and means, is a chain of true 
associations — some logical, others accidental. Hence 
educating the pupil's faculty of association will facilitate 
his studies. 

V. — Imagination. 

The imagination is an internal sense which preserves 
the images of objects perceived by the senses; it after- 
ward reproduces these objects in the exact form under 
which they appeared; or it combines the elements of 
images previously received, in order to create a fanciful 
one. The imagination of children is very lively; the 
teacher has merely to direct it, discipline it, and make 
it a help in teaching. 

1. The pictures presented to the child should be no- 
ble and pure: scenes from nature, historical narratives, 
stories of travel, poetry, sacred history, the lives of our 
Lord and the saints, furnish such in abundance. 

2. The imagination of young children delights in 
moral tales, fables, and allegory: it is very advisable to 
make use of them, provided it be done with discretion 
and at an opportune time. 

3. Illustrations help children to understand abstract 
subjects; exact, striking, and noble comparisons should 
often be presented to them. 

4. Sketches reproduced from memory, verbal de- 
scriptions, compositions, all require a combination of 
images, and afford the teacher an opportunity of 
awakening the creative imagination of his pupils. 

5. In narratives, oral or written, the teacher should 
encourage the exercise of imagination; but any incor- 
rectness, incoherence, or vulgarity in the expressions 
which the children make use of, ought to be corrected 
with kindness. 

6. Anything which may unduly excite the imagination 
should be carefully avoided; such as terrifying stories, 
stories of ghosts, or nocturnal apparitions. 

7. By religious convictions and practices the pupils 
should be fortified against any disturbance of the im- 



14 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

agination, which romantic or unhealthy reading, dan- 
gerous spectacles, indiscreet or morbid curiosity, might 
produce at a later age. 

8. Without destroying all their illusions, or crushing 
youthful enthusiasm, the teacher should prepare the 
pupils for real life, and present it to them under its true 
aspect, i.e. J as a courageous subjection to daily duty. 

VI. — Judgment and Reasoning. 

The proper act of the intellect is thought. To think 
means: (i) To conceive ideas; (2) to compare them or 
express judgments; (3) to connect them logically in 
order to affirm or deny a proposition by means of rea- 
soning.^ 

Ideas. Ideas are the intellectual representations of 
things. The chief aim of instruction is to multiply the 
number of ideas and the words that express them. 

1. If instruction is methodical, and if it makes con- 
stant demand on the reflective powers, most school exer- 
cises will afford new and clear ideas to the children, or 
will make the ideas previously acquired more clear. 

2. In order that ideas may be better impressed on the 
minds of pupils, and not cause confusion by their num- 
ber, it is proper to bring into relief the chief ideas in each 
subject treated, and attach to them the derived or sec- 
ondary ideas; a teacher who prepares summaries and 
synoptical tables attends to this principle. 

3. One of the best means of giving a child true and 
correct ideas is to make him understand perfectly the 
words he reads and makes use of. Without frequent 
explanation and questions on words, the pupils will lis- 
ten, study, and repeat without inteUigence, and their 

* Simple apprehension is that first operation of the intellect by which it 
seizes or perceives an object without any affirmation or negation concern- 
ing it. The result of this operation is an ideal reproduction of the object 
perceived; this reproduction is called a mental term, concept, notion, or 
idea; when viewed as the product of the joint action ol object and intel- 
lect, it is called a concept, and the action producing it is called conception. 



INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. I5 

faculties will never become developed. Explanations 
are particularly necessary with regard to the technical 
expressions belonging to each branch of instruction. 

4. To give the pupils a distinct knowledge of things it 
is often useful to explain words by their etymology, and 
the sense in which they are used. 

5. Reading is an abundant source of ideas; therefore, 
the pupils ought to be encouraged to read good books 
with attention. 

Judgments. Judgment is an act of the intellect by 
which it afi&rms or denies the agreement between a 
subject and an attribute. 

1. Every answer to a question is the expression of a 
judgment; the teacher should exact that answers be 
complete, correct, and precise. 

2. Every sentence contains one or several proposi- 
tions, that is, one or several judgments; logical analysis 
shows the child how to distinguish them, and gives him 
facility in following the connection of ideas in what he 
reads. 

3. In lessons on history and religious instruction, the 
children may be got to express critical appreciations on 
the events; and the teacher should correct with kindness 
whatever is false, inexact, or exaggerated in the state- 
ments. 

Good sense. Good sense is rectitude of judgment in 
practical life. It is extremely important to develop it; 
and with this object the child should be accustomed: 
(i) to watch himself, that he may say nothing which he 
does not understand; (2) to reflect, in order not to accept 
thoughtlessly everything he hears and reads; (3) to be 
careful not to judge without knowing the motives of 
actions; (4) to refrain from talkativeness. 

Reasoning. Reasoning is the act of the intellect 
which, from a known truth passes to another yet un- 
known, by the connection of the second with the first. 

Without teaching the laws of logic to the children in 



1 6 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

primary schools, they should be taught to reason justly 
in the following and similar instances: (i) To find out 
unknown truths, as the answer to a problem in arith- 
metic; (2) to prove truths which have simply been af- 
firmed, as when they are asked to establish a proposition 
in morals; (3) to explain effects by their causes, as in 
object lessons and instruction in history; (4) to refute 
objections to religious dogma and morals. 

To educate the pupils' reasoning power it is proper to 
exercise them : (i) In inductive reasoning, that is, in going 
from examples to the rule, and from effects to causes; 
(2) in deductive reasoning, that is, in making a judicious 
application of principles and their consequences. 

As induction has for basis, observation, it is the most 
natural form of reasoning for children, and the easiest; 
consequently it is of frequent use in instruction in gram- 
mar, history, geography, and object lessons. 

The deductive method is chiefly used in explaining the 
theory of arithmetic and in solving problems. As far as 
their intellectual development allows, the pupils should 
be accustomed to draw from a general principle the 
consequences or particular truths contained in it; but 
they must not be allowed to draw conclusions without 
having stated the premises. 



CHAPTER IV. 

EDUCATION OF THE MORAL SENSIBILITY. 

I. — General Notions. 

1. By moral sensibility is meant all the affective in- 
clinations by reason of which we experience agreeable 
or disagreeable emotions. 

2. Moral inchnations or propensities are the natural, 
spontaneous, and constant tendencies of the soul toward 
objects which agree with our moral nature. If these ob- 



EDUCATION OF THE MORAL SENSIBILITY. 1 7 

jects are considered bad or injurious, we feel repelled by 
them. 

3. The actual emotion produced in us is a /ee/iw^. If 
agreeable, the feeling produces pleasure; if disagreeable, 
it causes pain. 

4. The inclinations — the natural springs of activity — 
have been given to man to aid him in attaining his end; 
they are then good when directed toward that end. 
They may induce him to turn away from it, and thus 
they become bad by abuse or deviation. Education 
should rule, direct, check, and render them moral, i.e., 
bring them into subjection to the moral law. 

5. Love, or the affective movement which inclines the 
soul to attach and unite itself to things, is the foundation 
of all inclinations; but it is very important to distinguish 
between this sensible love and what may be called love 
of the will, which is that disposition of the soul tending 
freely and voluntarily toward the known good. 

6. In the modern sense of the word, passion is a lively 
inclination that has become predominant. It is a vio- 
lent movement by which one pursues or avoids an object, 
according as it causes him pleasure or pain. When 
powerful and ruled by reason, this inclination becomes 
a good passion, which increases the strength of the fac- 
ulties, and inclines one vigorously toward good; when 
violent and perverted, it becomes a bad passion, -which 
blinds the intellect and enslaves the will. 

7. The teacher must not be astonished if the pupils 
offer resistance, and even violent resistance, to his efforts 
to direct or reform their inclinations, feelings, and pas- 
sions. Moral education depends on the direction given 
to the passions; but human endeavors and authority may 
fail to overcome the child's will: it is by means of in- 
struction, persuasion, good example, and having recourse 
to supernatural aid that the desired result will be ob- 
tained. In this matter the child himself should take an 
active part: he ought to be induced to overcome himself, 
and to seek in reflection, prayer, and the sacraments, the 
courage and efficacious will to do what is right. 



1 8 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



II. — Moral Inclinations and Sentiments. 

According to their object, inclinations are either per- 
sonal, social, or moral. The subjoined remarks refer 
to a few inclinations chosen from each of the three 
categories. 

I. — Personal inclinations. Personal inclinations re- 
late to ourselves, and have their source in self-love. 
Their principal manifestations are: (i) The love of life 
or the instinct of self-preservation, and its two correlative 
tendencies: love of comfort and the instinct of happiness; 
(2) the instinct of progress, or the incHnation to develop 
our faculties to the utmost extent. From the instinct 
of progress spring curiosity, or the desire oj knowing; 
the need oj emotions; the love oj action, or the instinct 0} 
activity, and its derivatives: love of liberty, desire of pos- 
session, esteem, honor, and glory; self-esteem, self-con- 
fidence, and the feeling of personal dignity. 

1. Instinct of self-preservation and happiness. The 

instinct of self-preservation, the love of comfort, and 
the desire of happiness ^ should be properly guided; and 
children must be taught to distinguish between well- 
being and true happiness. The love of comfort, if 
uncontrolled, becomes egotism, gluttony, intemperance, 
and sensuality, the ravages of which are deplorable. 

2. Curiosity, the desire of knowledge. In this in- 
clination the teacher will find a stimulus to the intel- 
lectual activity of the children; he can also make use of 
it to excite in them a love of study. That study may 
become a source of pleasure to them, it should be made 
easy, interesting, varied, and personal, by having re- 
course to the processes which experience and pedagogic 
science suggest. But love of study for the pleasure 

1 A certain number of inclinations have been called instincts, to mark 
that they are more or less spontaneous; but however strong they may be 
they have not the characteristics of instinct properly so called, and they 
may be brought under the influence of reason and will. 



EDUCATION OF THE MORAL SENSIBILITY. 1 9 

which it gives, is not sufficient to prevent carelessness 
and discouragement; the pupils ought especially to be 
taught to look on study as a duty, and as a necessary 
preparation for the career which they will follow when 
they leave school. The mind should not get free scope 
to wander indiscriminately over all objects; and pupils 
must be warned against indiscreet curiosity, which might 
excite in them the most dangerous passions. 

3. Love of activity and liberty. Man is active and 
free by nature; he seeks to act by himself, freely, and in 
the exercise of his activity experiences keen enjoyment. 
The teacher should make use of this inclination and the 
agreeable feeling derived from it, for the intellectual 
development of his pupils. But it may degenerate into 
a spirit of independence, which is the source of interior 
revolts, disobedience, disorder, and insubordination. 
The teacher must oppose this deviation by means which 
may induce the child, and if necessary constrain him, to 
submit to the orders of teachers and school regulations. 

4. Feeling of personal dignity and honor. The child 
ought to acquire a high idea of his dignity as man and 
Christian; hence the sentiment of honor should be excited 
in him. At the same time he must be warned against 
pride, vanity, and susceptibility; and encouraged to 
battle against sin, which is the only real degradation of 
personal dignity. 

II. — Social inclinations. Social inclinations, also 
called affections, spring from the instinct of sociability and 
the instinct of sympathy. The chief among them are: 
the instincts of imitation, emulation, friendship, the do- 
mestic affections, kindness, pity, benevolence, and pa- 
triotism. 

I. Instinct of imitation. The instinct of imitation is 
very powerful in the child, and examples easily influence 
him; whence the imperious obligation of always giving 
the pupils good example, and removing any incentives 
to evil which may arise from dangerous associations. On 



20 ' ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

the other hand the teacher should be careful lest this imi- 
tative tendency weaken the will. Virtuous surroundings 
help children to be virtuous, and it is necessary to place 
them in such situations; but they must be constantly re- 
minded that they should be virtuous from conviction, 
and not merely as a result of the influence of their sur- 
roundings. 

2. Emulation. Emulation is the tendency which in- 
duces us to equal, and if possible, to surpass our fellow- 
men in the acquisition of a quality which they appear to 
possess in a higher degree than we. To excite emulation 
among pupils is a means of stimulating their ardor for 
work, and of sustaining their will in the efforts required 
for the practice of virtue. It is important to convince 
them that true emulation consists, not so much in sur- 
passing their companions as in surpassing themselves, by 
constant efforts to do better. This inclination may thus 
be prevented from degenerating into pride or jealousy, 
or from being the cause of dangerous rivalries. (The 
means of keeping up emulation are explained in Part 
V.) 

3. Sympathy, pity, friendship. Sympathy is an in- 
clination in us to share the sentiments of others. It is 
called pity when it makes us compassionate the sorrows 
of others. A teacher may excite in his pupils the noble 
sentiment of pity, by making them reflect on the suffer- 
ings which they often thoughtlessly witness; by inducing 
them to afford relief by compassionate kindness, com- 
forting words, and if possible, material aid. To make 
this feeling and the acts which it inspires meritorious, 
the children should be reminded that they ought to act 
through supernatural motives, and thus change natural 
kindness and benevolence into acts of Christian virtue 
and charity. Sympathy becomes friendship when by 
mutual kindness it unites two persons intimately with 
each other. Children should be taught to appreciate 
the inestimable value of true friendship, founded on 
virtue, and not on pleasure or interest. All friendship 



EDUCATION OF THE MORAL SENSIBILITY. 21 

is false or bad which has any other basis. Too exclu- 
sive a friendship for one companion, is a kind of injus- 
tice toward the others. 

4. Patriotism or love of country. Patriotism is justi- 
fied by the providential distinction between nations, and 
by the circumstances, which, for individuals, constitute a 
common country; such as common past history, and 
often common language and religion, common sacrifices 
for the defence of territory, and a filial regard for the 
ancestors who lived on the soil where the families they 
founded still dwell. True patriotism is cultivated in 
school by prayers for the country, instructions in moral- 
ity, national language and literature, and history; by pat- 
riotic songs and recitations, the proper observance of 
national holidays, and a study of the duties which con- 
stitute, for each citizen, his debt toward his country. 

III. Higher inclinations. Higher inclinations or as- 
pirations are tendencies toward the ideal and the per- 
fect. They comprise love of truth, which is the principle 
of science; love of the beautiful, the principle of art; 
and love of the good, the principle of virtue. But these 
sentiments are only three aspects of the love of the infin- 
ite: thus the higher aspirations relate to God, and are 
summed up in the sentiment of religion. 

I. Love of the good. It is the natural tendency of 
an upright man to love the good. The moral sentiments 
which spring from this love are: The pleasure or pain 
that follows good or bad actions; sympathy for the 
author of a praiseworthy act, and even admiration, if we 
see generosity and devotion pushed to heroism; aversion, 
contempt, and horror for evil, according to the degree of 
perversity which it reveals. These are noble sentiments 
which ought to be developed in the souls of children. As 
to the feeling of pleasure which sometimes accompanies 
a good action, the teacher should not forget that this 
moral feeling, of itself, would be but a feeble barrier 
against the passions. The child must have a love for 



21 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

duty, which would prompt him to accomplish it in spite 
of any repugnance he might feel. 

2. Love of God, religious sentiment. After showing 
the nobility of this feeling, the teacher should tell the 
children that it consists in fear, respect, confidence, ador- 
ation, and prayer. It will be necessary to make them 
understand that it is by acts, and not by feelings, that 
true piety and love of God are shown. At certain times 
sentiment may be a help to piety, but does not constitute 
it; at the same time the teacher ought prudently to excite 
feeling in order to make the children perform their re- 
ligious duties with joy. 



CHAPTER V. 
TRAINING OF CONSCIENCE.i 

Importance and necessity. Conscience is reason in so 
far as it consists in discerning good from evil. It is a 
practical judgment by which reason applies the moral 
law to our acts, in order to approve or condemn them; 
it is the interior rule of conduct. A good conscience is 
the source of such real happiness that it is the greatest 
consolation a man can enjoy here below. 

The formation of a child's conscience cannot begin at 
too early an age. Doubtless, the most necessary guid- 
ance is that which the priest gives in the exercise of his 
ministry; but none the less, a serious duty devolves on 

1 Consciousness is the knowledge which the soul has of its faculties 
and their operations. Man not only has sensitive and intellectual cogni- 
tions, but he also knows that he has them. The faculty by which the 
soul is cognizant of its sensations is the common-sense, sometimes called 
sensitive consciousness. But the knowledge which the soul has of its 
intellective affections and of itself is properly called consciousness or apper- 
ception. And because these affections may be viewed either in themselves 
or in their moral character of goodness or malice, a distinction must be made 
between psychological consciousness, which perceives the existence of the 
affections, and moral consciousness, which tells whether the acts are good 
or bad. This latter is generally called conscience. 



TRAINING OF CONSCIENCE. 23 

the teacher in helping to form the conscience of his 
pupils. Though he were to make them excellent in all 
other respects, they should have no true education if 
their conscience were without rectitude or delicacy, es- 
pecially if they did not follow its suggestions. 

Object to be attained. The teacher should form in 
his pupils, not the conscience of a good man of the world, 
in the common acceptation of this phrase, but the con- 
science of a good Christian man, which will rule their 
moral conduct according to the prescriptions of the Gos- 
pel. Conscience, when well formed, is right or con- 
formable to the moral law; enlightened or instructed on 
the nature and extent of duty, and in the line of conduct 
to be followed in the different cases which present them- 
selves; delicate, that is, always opposed to evil, no matter 
how trivial, simply because it is a violation of duty. On 
the other hand, a defective conscience is either erroneous, 
scrupulous, or lax. The teacher must impress on his 
pupils the convictions: (i) That it is the duty of each 
one to enlighten his conscience, and to follow its direc- 
tions when it is morally certain of the rectitude of an 
action; (2) that the greatness of the number of the trans- 
gressors of a law does not justify their transgression, nor 
invalidate in any way the obligatory character of that 
law. 

Means to be employed. A child's conscience is trained : 

1. By instructions which enlighten, and practical 
directions which guide it. The child gets these direc- 
tions and instructions from the priest, and from the 
teacher during catechisms, and particularly from the 
confessor in the tribunal of penance. 

2. By pious reflections and by the custom of examin- 
ing his conscience. If made methodically and seriously, 
this examination enlightens the child on the nature of his 
acts, on their causes and motives, and on the means of 
preventing relapses into evil. 

3. By the graces of light received in prayer and the 
reception of the sacraments. 



24 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

4. By vigilance, which keeps the pupils in the path of 
duty and gives an opportunity to the teacher, when he 
sees reason for it, to give them timely warning. 

5. By instruction in history, if the narrative of facts 
is accompanied by an appreciation of the moral value of 
the actions. 

6. By familiar conversations, in which the children 
will be invited to judge the moral value of actions of 
which they have read or witnessed. 



CHAPTER VL 
EDUCATION OF THE WILL. 

The will is an anterior principle by which we act freely 
and with knowledge. The will is right, if it follows the 
promptings of conscience and the course which is known 
to be good; it is perverse, if it violates the moral rule of 
our actions. 

I. — End to be Attained. 

The general object to be attained is to impart strength 
and constancy to the will of the child. It is by increas- 
ing, little by little, his power over himself, that he is pre- 
pared to act on his own initiative, and always according 
to duty. 

A right will should exercise its influence on the whole 
man: 

1. On his physical activity. The will sustains, ex- 
cites, moderates, and directs the physical activity in acts 
that are permitted, free, or commanded; it withholds 
physical activity from unlawful acts. 

2. On the senses. The will imposes on the senses 
the privation of what tends to create factitious wants: by 
the practice of modesty, Christian temperance and pur- 



EDUCATION OF THE WILL. 25 

ity, it denies them what might excite sinful cupidity; it 
sometimes refuses them lawful enjoyments in order to 
acquire strength to renounce those that are forbidden; 
and it subjects them to that which is the object of duty. 

3. On the imagination. Vivid pictures and scenes 
have a power of exciting us to perform the actions which 
they suggest to our minds: the will should then guard 
the imagination from everything that might be the occa- 
sion of trouble or wrong. 

4. On the attention and memory. The influence of 
the will on the attention consists in making it apply 
itself to the ideas and objects which it is desirable to 
study; in maintaining it in this application as long as 
necessary; and turning it away from whatever may be 
dangerous. The power of the will over memory con- 
sists: in commanding the repetition of acts that fix ideas; 
in removing distracting causes that prevent recollection; 
in recalling memories that lead to good, and in dispelling 
those of a nature to lead to evil. 

5. On the feelings and the character. When the feel- 
ings prompt us to perform our duties, the will finds in 
them help toward the accomplishment of good. When 
they tend toward evil, the will opposes to them the law 
of duty and represses them with energy. 

Character is the intellectual and moral physiognomy of 
a man; it is formed by the aptitudes, inclinations, habits, 
and the intellectual and moral qualities, whether natural 
or acquired, of each person. The natural dispositions 
of children, the moral and religious education they re- 
ceive at home, the examples before their eyes, and the 
conduct of those they associate with, create among them 
very many kinds of character. These may be classified 
in two general groups: the good and the defective. 

Good characters are those in which virtuous leanings 
and habits overcome the evil tendencies. The chief 
kinds are the gentle, frank, modest, reserved, affection- 
ate, firm, active, calm, delicate, and noble. 



26 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Defective characters are the results of the evil tenden- 
cies of nature and of bad habits. The principal types 
are the indolent, hypocritical, haughty, fickle, and chol- 
eric. The will has the power of reforming character by 
the repetition of acts contrary to its defects. 

II.— Means to be Employed. 

General rules. The general directions to be followed 
in educating the will are: 

1. Educate and perfect the intellect and the sensibil- 
ity, since the will in its action has need of the help of 
these two faculties: this education is the indirect forma- 
tion of the power to act freely. 

2. Do not force the will of a child violently, but 
incline it to duty by motives furnished by reason and 
faith. 

3. Do not oppose systematically all his wishes, under 
pretext of accustoming him to obedience: in acting thus 
there is danger of breaking his will, or of leading him to 
rebel against all authority; the duty of the teacher is 
to train the will to yield to duty, and prepare the child 
to govern himself. 

4. Do not leave him to himself, under pretext of giving 
him an opportunity of doing the right thing spontane- 
ously; but make him obey by subjecting him to strict 
discipline, at the same time giving scope for initiative 
and liberty. It is not by encouraging a spirit of inde- 
pendence or passivity that a teacher prepares his pupils 
for the normal exercise of their liberty, but by prudently 
directing this liberty. 

5. Do not yield to all his caprices, but overcome his 
opposition by means that will be most sure to lead him 
back to duty. 

6. Strengthen his will against natural weakness, inde- 
cision, and inconstancy, by instructions, counsels, varied 
and efficacious means of emulation, and especially by 
having recourse to supernatural help. 



EDUCATION OF THE WILL. 27 

Practical applications, i. Give the pupils a thorough 
knowledge of their duties. 

2. Always give, and see that others give, good example 
to the pupils; examples are the most efficacious means of 
forming the will. The lives of the saints, and the biog- 
raphies of illustrious men who have realized great 
things by tenacious strength of will, form useful read- 
ings to excite courage and inspire generous resolutions. 

3. Watch with prudence, delicacy, and solicitude over 
the morality of the pupils, because nothing relaxes and 
even breaks the strength of the will as the habit of 
vice. 

4. According as it is good or bad, habit facilitates or 
hinders the performance of duty; consequently, it is 
indispensable that children be taught to acquire good 
habits and overcome bad ones. In this way they will be 
encouraged to struggle against their defects by the prac- 
tice of the Christian virtues. 

The chief virtues which a teacher ought to recom- 
mend his pupils to practise are: filial piety, gratitude, 
obedience, respect for authority, probity, uprightness, 
loyalty, strength of will in doing good, earnestness at 
work, temperance, purity, a spirit of sacrifice, gentleness, 
humility, and love of God. 

The faults against which the teacher should warn his 
pupils are: selfishness, ingratitude, insubordination, dis- 
honesty, dissimulation, lying, fickleness, thoughtlessness, 
idleness, too great love of comfort, sensuality, spirit of 
slandering, vanity, pride, and want of piety. 

The acquiring of virtues and the struggle against de- 
fects are for each pupil a personal work; the energy of 
a wise and zealous teacher should tend to the directing 
and sustaining of the will. 

5. Since every act one performs is the beginning or 
confirming of a habit, it is well to encourage even the 
least efforts, especially in a child who is anxious to cor- 
rect himself. To prevent a bad habit from gaining 
ground, care should be taken to fight against it the 
moment it shows itself. 



28 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER VII. 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 

I. — End to be Attained. 

In carrying on the religious education of children a 
teacher should strive: (i) To develop and strengthen 
their convictions; (2) to accustom them to the practice 
of virtue; (3) to make them love exercises of piety. 

Christian convictions. The child has received in bap- 
tism the habitual disposition to believe revealed truths; 
but by progressive instruction he acquires a knowledge 
of them. And not only should he know them, but they 
must remain in him as deep, unshaken convictions, which 
he must safeguard from everything that might change 
or weaken them. 

Christian virtues. It is not enough for a Christian to 
believe Catholic dogma; he must practise virtue, that 
is, conform his thoughts, judgments, and actions to the 
Christian rules of conduct. So to live and act is to en- 
joy true happiness; but this requires him to strive against 
his disorderly inclinations, and to practise the renuncia- 
tion which the Gospel imposes on the disciples of Jesus 
Christ. Children cannot be too early initiated to this 
difficult work; for according to the expression of Holy 
Scripture, "It is good for a man to bear the yoke of the 
Lord from his youth." 

Christian piety. The duties which the practice of re- 
ligion imposes are above the unaided strength of man; 
but by means of prayer he can obtain the divine assist- 
ance against temptations and weakness. If a child per- 
form with joy practices of enlightened piety, they will 
remain dear to him; and even though some practices be 
left off in days of weakness, many will still survive the 
storms of the passions and the momentary forgetfulness 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 29 

of even the most essential duties, and will be a guarantee 
of final repentance. 

II.— Means of Religious Education. 

The means of carrying on religious education in school 
are: instruction, example, and the supernatural spirit of 
the teacher. Religious instruction may be given directly 
or indirectly: directly, in the Catechism and exhortations 
which the teacher gives his pupils every day; indirectly 
by remarks, appreciations, and recall of Christian max- 
ims during lessons, as circumstances may permit. 

Virtue is infused rather than taught, and it is infused 
principally by example. In the conduct of a virtuous 
teacher there is a light which makes his pupils see the 
beauty of well-doing, and a persuasive force, tending to 
lead their will toward what is good. It is by purity of 
intention, union with God in prayer, and generosity in 
sacrifice, that the Christian teacher will make his in- 
struction efficacious, and lead his pupils in the paths of 
virtue. ''Without me," says Jesus Christ, "you can do 
nothing." 



PART IL 

THE SCHOOL AND ITS ORGANIZATION. 

In order that the children gathered together in a school 
may receive profitable education and instruction, the 
school should be properly equipped, and the pupils must 
attend regularly, and submit to a code of rules. 



CHAPTER I. 

MATERIAL ORGANIZATION. 

I. — School Premises. 

The material organization of schools is of the utmost 
importance. The requirements of hygiene, teaching, 
and supervision are to be attended to. 

The school and class-rooms. The school should be 
built in a healthy locality, sufficiently remote from noisy, 
dangerous, or unsanitary neighborhoods. If possible, 
the class-rooms should be on the ground floor, and on the 
same level, each having its own entrance It is desirable 
that the class-rooms be in a row, and have glazed doors 
opening on a corridor extending the length of the school. 
This corridor will cut off the school from outside noises, 
and may also serve as a cloak-room. If some of the class- 
rooms occupy the first or second story, the banisters of 
the staircases should have projecting metal studs at in- 
tervals of three or four feet, in view of deterring the chil- 

31 



32 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

dren from sliding down. A strict superintendence ought 
to be exercised when the pupils go up or down, especially 
at recreation time and at dismissal. When the class- 
rooms face the street or a common yard, the windows 
should be about five feet above the floor, and have the 
lower panes frosted. All the windows might be pro- 
vided with opening casements, so that the room may be 
ventilated without inconveniencing the children. The 
class-rooms should, as far as possible, be separated only 
by glazed partitions, and be large enough to allow fifteen 
square feet of floor for every child in attendance. 

Playground and out-houses. As it is undesirable that 
the pupils play in the public thoroughfare, a playground 
should be attached to every school. There might be also 
a covered shed which could be used as a gymnasium, and 
for drill exercises in wet weather. 

The playground must be large enough to give at least 
sixty square feet to every pupil; it should be kept clean, 
and flowers might be cultivated in the corners. The 
toilets must be so placed that proper vigilance may be 
exercised, and they should always be kept perfectly clean. 

II.— The Furniture of the Class-rooms. 

The school furniture and apparatus for instruction 
comprise: 

1. A desk and platform for the teacher. 

2. Desks for the pupils. 

3. Several black-boards. 

4. Apparatus for illustrating the system of weights 
and measures. 

5. Geographical and historical maps. 

6. Requisites for heating, lighting, and cleanliness. 

The higher classes should have, in addition, a terres- 
trial globe, a large pair of compasses and set of squares 
for black-board work; plaster models, and the usual 
objects for the teaching of drawing; solids of wood or 
zinc for geometrical demonstrations; engravings for use 



MATERIAL ORGANIZATION. 33 

in teaching history; the necessary apparatus for first 
lessons in science; a tuning fork ; a clock that strikes the 
hours and half-hours; and a small bell to give notice of 
the different exercises. 

The primary class-rooms should be provided with 
reading charts and easels; a ball-frame for arithmetic; 
and a collection of pictures for object lessons and lessons 
on sacred and profane history. 

Museum. The school museum should contain the 
things used in giving object lessons, such as specimens of 
industrial products, models, pictures, engravings, etc. 
The teacher should ask for them before school hours, 
and give them back after the lessons. In elementary 
schools this museum is composed of: (i) Special objects 
for use in arithmetic, geometry, drawing, history, geog- 
raphy, and magic-lantern views; (2) the general muse- 
um, i.e., collections of natural and industrial products, 
apparatus for experiments in chemistry and physics; (3) 
the local museum, containing specimens of the special 
products of the country. 

Desks. There are several kinds of desks, each having 
its own advantages and disadvantages. Whichever 
kind is most conducive to the comfort of the pupils, and 
best suited to the different movements they have to make, 
should be adopted. The height of the desks must be 
suited to the height of the children. The width of the 
seat and its distance from the desk should be such as to 
cause no unnecessary fatigue to the pupils, and to pre- 
vent any physical malformation which might result from 
being continually in a tiring posture: the desks should be 
so constructed, that their low^er edge and the inner edge 
of the seat be almost in the same vertical plane. At the 
right-hand side of each pupil a glass or porcelain ink 
well with a sliding cover, ought to be set in the desk. 

In the arrangement of the desks in the class-room, ac- 
count is to be taken: (i) Of the light, which should come 
from the left, if there be windows only on one side; (2) of 
the supervision that must be exercised over the pupils. 



34 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Black-boards. The black-board plays an important 
part in every well-appointed school-room. There should 
be sufficient black-board surface, either as part of the 
walls and partitions or as portable boards, so that a large 
number of pupils may work simultaneously, that synop- 
tic tables may be written out, and summaries made of 
the principal points of the lessons. A black-board on 
hinges might be set up in each corner of the class-room; 
but to avoid accidents that might result from a sudden or 
quick movement, care must be taken that they do not 
turn too freely. The special advantage of such a board 
is that the two sides are available for work, and diagrams 
and notes of lessons may easily be kept for reference. 

The school library. The books in the school library 
ought to be instructive and moral. Good books intelli- 
gently read may be of much assistance when coordi- 
nated with school studies. Pupils should be required to 
give an account of their reading. They might be en- 
couraged to read up special points, upon which they 
would afterward write a short composition. Where a 
Catholic Reading Circle has been estabUshed the pupils 
ought to be encouraged to follow its directions. 



CHAPTER II. 
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. 
I. — ^Admission of Pupils. 

Children may be admitted to school when they have 
completed their fifth year. Those who have not been 
vaccinated, or who have a contagious disease, should not 
be received. At the admission of a child the parents 
should provide : (i) A certificate, bearing the name and 
surname of the child, the date of his birth, the address 
and profession of his parents; (2) a certificate of vaccina- 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. 35 

tion; (3) if the child comes from another school, a certifi- 
cate of good conduct, which should also state the class 
in which he was. A register of admission should be 
kept in every school; in it are entered the name and sur- 
name of the pupil, the name, profession, and place of 
residence of the father, mother, or guardian; the date of 
the child's birth, the date of his entrance, and later of his 
leaving school. 

New pupils are admitted by the principal. They are 
then examined, and classed according to proficiency and 
age. To secure order, the pupils might be admitted at a 
fixed time, e.g., a quarter of an hour before class. Hav- 
ing informed the parents of the time that the school opens 
and closes, and of the principal school regulations, the 
teacher would do well to request them to send the child 
regularly and punctually. 

The grouping of too large a number of pupils in one 
class is liable to injure the health of the teachers, the 
discipline of the school, the success of studies, and 
the formation of character. Thirty or forty pupils in 
the higher classes, and fifty or sixty in the primary, is a 
maximum which it is never wise to exceed. 



II. — Opening of School. 

Entrance of pupils. Pupils should come in time for 
the beginning of class, but not too early. Those who 
arrive before the opening of school should observe good 
order, under the superintendence of a monitor appointed 
for that purpose. It is very advisable that the teacher 
be present in the class-room when the pupils arrive; but 
he ought to encourage them to behave as well in his ab- 
sence as when he is present, and to do so through a sense 
of duty. He might give marks of merit to those whose 
conduct has been exemplary previous to his entrance. 

Entrance of the teacher and beginning of work. 

When the teacher enters the class-room, the pupils 
should rise as he passes before them, and not sit down 



3G ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

until he makes them a sign to do so. They ought to act 
in Kke manner when any person of distinction visits the 
school. Classes should begin promptly at the hour ap- 
pointed. As soon as the bell rings, the pupils kneel 
down and recite the prayer prescribed. The teacher 
then calls attention by one stroke of the signal or bell 
and makes signs, successively, to rise, be seated, and 
begin the class exercises. 

III. — Dismissal of Pupils. 

The pupils of the primary classes should be dismissed 
first; then those of the upper classes in such order as may 
be found convenient. The teacher makes a sign to the 
pupils of one desk; they leave their places one after an- 
other, and go in silence to the place assigned. When all 
are ready, the teacher strikes his hand three times in 
succession; at the first stroke the pupils uncover, at the 
second salute, and at the third file off in order. The 
teacher will be careful that the pupils conduct themselves 
in a becoming manner in the streets, that they do not 
throw stones, run, or shout, and that they act politely. 
As it is not easy to exercise direct control over them while 
coming to school or going home, the teacher might in- 
struct some trustworthy pupils to report any unseemly 
act. 

IV.— Attendance and Absence. 

Special remarks. Leave of absence should be given 
rarely, but never without suflScient cause. Irregular 
pupils learn little, and are an annoyance to teachers. 
Absence from religious instruction must not be tolerated 
more than two or three times in succession, and only for 
very urgent reasons. When a pupil is very useful to his 
parents, he may be excused from attendance at fixed 
periods, and in special circumstances. 

The absence of a pupil should be reported immediate- 
ly to the parents. When the pupil returns to class after 
an absence which has not been authorized, he stands at 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. 



37 



some appointed place until he gets permission to follow 
the lessons again. If often absent in this way, he ought 
to be accompanied by his parents when he returns. 

Means of preventing absence. The teacher should be 
convinced that the best way of preventing unnecessary 
absence is to make the school popular with parents 
and children. As a general rule, when the classes are 
well conducted, and the instruction practical, methodi- 
cal, and interesting, absence is rare. To secure the 
regular attendance of heedless children, some reward 
may be offered, or they may be appointed to some school 
office likely to interest them. When such pupils deserve 
severe punishment their parents must be induced to in- 
flict it, lest the punishment, if given in school, increase 
their disgust for study. Whatever may be the cause of 
absence, the great means of preventing it is to gain the 
cooperation of the parents. It is therefore necessary: 

1. To notify the parents when the pupil is absent, and 
to request them to bring him back themselves. 

2. To represent to them the injury that the want of 
punctuality may cause the pupil, and how detrimental to 
progress his absence has already been. 

3. To accept none but well-founded excuses. 

4. To refer every leave of absence to the principal. 

5. To have all requests for absence made before the 
morning or afternoon session. 

V. — Vacation. 

Vacations are indispensable; but idleness, neglect of 
prayer, the absence of all supervision, and the influence 
of bad companions, often make them injurious to mind 
and heart. To guard against these dangers, a few days 
before the end of the scholastic year, the teacher ought to 
prescribe a short programme of studies and exercises for 
the vacation. A day or two before closing for vacation, 
the teacher should give an instruction on the manner 
of spending the holidays. The principal advices to be 
given to the pupils are: 



38 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

1. To be respectful and obedient to their parents, af- 
fectionate and obliging toward their brothers and sis- 
ters, and polite toward those with whom they will have 
dealings. 

2. To remember that they are under strict obligation 
to assist at Mass on the days prescribed by the Church. 
In some places it is customary to assemble the pupils at 
the school before Mass time, and to conduct them to 
church ; they should be advised to be faithful to this 
meeting, unless they go with their parents. 

3. To go to Confession during the vacation, and to 
Holy Communion if they are authorized. 

4. To remember that the practices of piety to which 
they are accustomed at school, morning and evening 
prayers, devotion to the Blessed Virgin, offering of their 
actions to God, etc., are much more necessary during 
the vacation, on account of the greater difi&culty of per- 
severing in good resolutions at that time. 

5. To avoid carefully all bad companions, dangerous 
reading, and all occasions which they know might lead 
them to evil. 

6. To work a little each day at the vacation exercises, 
and to read some instructive books, which is the best way 
to preserve knowledge acquired, and to prepare profit- 
ably for the classes of the coming year. 

Before dismissing the pupils, they should be told the 
date on which the school will reopen, and warned to 
come back on that day, half an hour before the time for 
beginning class. 



CHAPTER III. 

RULES RELATING TO GOOD EDUCATION AND 
GENERAL ORDER. 

The regular working of a school exacts the willing 
submission of the pupils to the prescriptions of the daily 
regulation. Several of these have already been men- 



GOOD EDUCATION AND GENERAL ORDER. 39 

tioned when treating of school attendance. Others 
relating to good education and general order are here 
given; it will be well to refer to them frequently in class, 
by way of advice. These regulations are grouped in 
the five following sections: 

I. — Duties of Pupils Toward Their Teachers. 

Pupils should remember that the respect and sub- 
mission which they owe their parents are also due to 
the teachers to whom parents delegate their authority. 
Consequently: 

1. The pupils must salute the teacher when passing 
before him; and when speaking to him they ought to 
stand up, express themselves respectfully, and avoid 
using language that might be imperious, unbecoming, or 
too familiar. 

2. They should receive their teacher's commands as 
they would those of their parents, always complying with 
them exactly, and never showing bad temper. Mur- 
murs or replies are faults which deserve to be severely 
reprimanded, because a Christian school is a school of 
respect. 

3. If a pupil thinks himself wronged he must not seek 
to justify himself immediately, or in a loud voice, or, 
above all, insolently; but should wait for a suitable time, 
then give his reasons calmly and respectfully, beirtg per- 
suaded that the teacher will listen to him with kind- 
ness. 

4. The pupils should thank the teacher when they 
receive anything from him, and apologize if they cause 
disturbance. 

5. When questioned, they should answer loud enough 
to be heard, and never reply by a curt yes or no. 

6. The pupils should always observe these rules of 
politeness toward clergymen and persons of authority 
with whom they come in contact, as much through a 
feeling of personal duty as for the good reputation of the 
school. 



40 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

II. — Duties of Pupils Toward Their Companions. 

The pupils of the same school should live in sincere 
and cordial friendship with one another. 

1. In his relations with companions, a good pupil will 
always observe those rules of politeness expected from 
well-bred children. He will observe the maxim, "Do 
unto others as you would have them do to you," and 
try to win the esteem and affection of his comrades by 
simple, gentle, and kindly manners. He may work hard 
to get the highest place in his class; but if others are 
more successful, he will show no jealousy nor try to les- 
sen their merit, nor neglect to congratulate them on their 
success. 

2. Pupils should treat one another with deference 
and consideration; avoid all rude expressions and nick- 
names and never mock those who have any natural de- 
fect. They should also avoid contradicting, teasing, and 
disputing. 

3. If a pupil has wronged his companions, they must 
not take the law into their own hands, but simply tell the 
teacher, who will do what he thinks best to allay all 
feeling of resentment or anger. 

4. Complaints about companions must not be too 
readily accepted by the teacher. A pupil ought to make 
complaints when the fault is serious; but he should 
never ^o so through a spirit of vengeance or a secret de- 
sire to injure. 

5. Good advice from a companion is sometimes more 
efficacious than from the teacher. Though the influence 
of a pupil may not be powerful enough to prevent evil, 
he should never seem to approve of it through cowardice 
or human respect. 

6. It is very wrong in a pupil to speak against the school 
regulations or against the teachers, in order to get up a 
kind of conspiracy, or provoke insubordination. 

7. Pupils should never say or do anything in the least 
offensive to modesty. Any known fault of this nature 
must be severely punished. 



GOOD EDUCATION AND GENERAL ORDER. 4 1 

8, When a pupil finds a lost object, and does not know 
the owner, he should give it to the teacher. 



III.— Silence and Deportment. 

Silence, i. In the school-room, silence is a safeguard 
of discipline, and a necessary condition for serious work; 
hence pupils should be compelled to observe it exactly. 

2. Lessons must be studied in a low voice or mentally. 

3. When a pupil wishes to ask for an explanation, he 
should do so by a sign, without making noise with his 
fingers; and act similarly when he is able to answer a 
question about which another pupil hesitates. 

4. Silence is particularly necessary at the change of 
lessons, and when forming into rank. At such times 
even the teacher must not be spoken to, unless it is in- 
dispensable. 

5. If a pupil needs to speak to a companion during 
class, he should ask permission by a sign, say only what 
is necessary, and that in a low voice. Interchange of 
notes between children ought to be strictly forbidden. 

Deportment during lessons, i. During the oral les- 
sons, and particularly during catechism, the pupils 
should sit upright, and keep their hands on the desk, 
without folding their arms. 

2. To avoid being distracted, they should look at the 
teacher, and not have anything useless in their hands, on 
the desks, or in their mouths. To eat during a lesson is 
very ill-mannered. 

3. When reading-lessons are carried on at the desks, 
the pupil should hold the book in both hands, resting it 
slightly on the desk; and when questioned, leave the 
book open on the desk, and comply with the rule given 
above. (Silence, 3.) 

4. While the teacher or a pupil works at the black- 
board, all the others should follow attentively, and not 
occupy themselves with anything else, unless they have 
been told to do so. 



42 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

5. At writing exercises, the body should be almost 
upright, a little nearer the desk at the left side — the left 
forearm resting on the desk, the middle of the right fore- 
arm leaning on the edge. 

IV. — Order and Cleanliness. 

Order and cleanliness are very necessary in Hfe; pupils 
should endeavor to acquire them, by personal neatness, 
and by care in keeping their books and exercises. 

Personal cleanliness, i. Personal cleanliness is a 
form of self-respect; it is necessary for morality and 
health. Every morning, and in every class, there should 
be an inspection of cleanliness, to make sure that faces 
and hands are properly washed, clothes clean and not 
torn, and shoes polished.^ 

2. When in class or at recreation, a child has soiled 
his hands, face, or clothes, he should clean himself 
before going home. 

3. Perfect cleanHness, as well as hygiene and sim- 
plicity, repudiates the use of cosmetics and perfumes. 

Care of books, i. The pupils' school-books ought to 
be covered with strong plain paper. 

2. Nothing but the pupil's name and surname should 
be written in his books. The corners of the leaves must 
not be turned down; a note-book ought to be used to 
mark lessons and exercises. 

3. Every month the teacher should examine the state 
of the books. 

4. Pupils to whom books are lent should be held re- 
sponsible for them. 

Care of copybooks, i. Nothing should be written on 

1 In making this inspection a wise teacher rewards by a good mark the 
children whose cleanliness leaves nothing to be desired, and never makes 
sarcastic remarks about the others: the families would be humiliated and 
would resent it. To praise the first by the remarks good, very good, and to 
be silent about the others, is a sufficient lesson for all. After the inspection 
some general remarks might be made, but personalities should never be 
indulged in. 



GOOD EDUCATION AND GENERAL ORDER. 43 

the cover of the copybook but the name and surname of 
the pupil, and the subject or nature of the exercises it 
contains. 

2. The exercise-books should be kept clean and neat, 
not crushed or turned down at the corners. The pages 
must be completely filled, none being torn out or passed 
over. 

3. If a margin is not already marked, the pupils 
should draw one about an inch wide on each page. 

4. The pupils ought to be careful of the "rough work" 
exercise-books in which a first copy of a problem, a dic- 
tation, a composition, etc., is made: mistakes in spelling 
should be neatly underlined, and the correct form written 
above the word badly spelled; incorrect work in other 
subjects may be crossed out. 

5. The different subdivisions of an exercise ought to 
be separated by thin lines. Useless or very heavy Hues 
must be avoided. 

6. An inspection of exercise-books should take place 
every week, and notes, such as very good, fair, and had, 
or a certain number of marks might be given. These 
could be added to the marks given for general neatness.^ 

Cleanliness of class-room and school, i. Order and 
cleanliness are the ornaments of school and class-room; 
and the pupils should remember that on them chiefly 
this order depends. 

2. They should leave their hats and overcoats in the 
cloak-room. 

3. A basket ought to be used for waste papers 
and other useless things; nothing should be thrown on 
the floor. To write on the walls in any part of the 
school is behavior altogether unworthy of a well-bred 
child. 

4. The playground, the corridors, and particularly 
the toilets, should be kept perfectly clean. 

5. The pupils should be held responsible for any 

1 A fortnightly inspection of exercise-books by the principal would be 
very advantageous. 



44 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

damage they cause, either to the school premises or to 
the school furniture. 

6. The pupils must not be allowed to play in class or 
to eat their lunch in the class-room, except in very severe 
weather. 

v.— Employments to be Intrusted to the Children. 

Certain duties which the teachers cannot, or ought not 
to fulfil themselves, should be intrusted to pupils. To 
encourage these pupils to perform such duties well, it is 
advisable to give them a certain number of good marks 
every week; and to keep up a spirit of emulation among 
them, they might be changed each month. 

The bell-ringer, i. In every school a pupil should 
have charge of ringing the bell. He ought to be very 
regular in attendance, and very punctual in the exercise 
of his office. 

2. He should ring at the beginning of school, and for 
every change of lessons. 

3. Two or three minutes before playtime at mid-day, 
and before dismissal time in the evening, he should tinkle 
the bell, as a warning to the pupils to put away their 
books, papers, etc. 

Monitors, i. There ought to be monitors in all the 
classes, before school, morning and afternoon, and when 
the teacher is obliged to leave the class. 

2. The monitor of a class must be always at the place 
assigned him, and give good example to the other pupils: 
he is appointed not only to watch over them, but also to 
be their model. 

3. The monitors should not threaten or strike any 
classmate; they may merely note those who misbehave. 

4. The teacher should examine reports carefully be- 
fore punishing the accused; he may privately question 
the best-behaved pupils who happened to be witnesses, 
to learn if all occurred as stated. 

5. The teacher ought to listen to the complaints made 



GOOD EDUCATION AND GENERAL ORDER. 45 

against the monitor, especially when offered by disin- 
terested, prudent, and well-conducted pupils. Should 
the monitor be found guilty, he ought to be punished 
more severely than others who may have committed the 
same fault, or he might be withdrawn from ofi&ce. 

Sweeping. On account of the many inconveniences 
arising from the sweeping being done by pupils, it is de- 
sirable that a special servant be engaged to do this work. 
If pupils must be intrusted with it, two of them might 
be appointed to sweep and dust the class-room every day. 
Their work should be finished about a quarter of an hour 
or twenty minutes after dismissal. They should per- 
form it carefully, and without quarelling or idling. 

The door-keeper, i. The duty of the door-keeper is to 
open and close the class-rooms, morning and afternoon, 
to fasten the shutters, ventilators, and windows, and to 
see that the sweeping be properly done. 

2. Another pupil ought to be appointed to open and 
close the school-door during the lessons. This he should 
do quietly and promptly. 

3. This pupil should be regular, modest, well-behaved, 
and polite. He ought to be placed near the door. The 
same pupil should not be kept too long at this duty, so 
that his studies may not suffer. 



PART III. 
ORGANIZATION OF TEACHING. 

General organization of teaching, called also pedagogi- 
cal or school organization, prescribes the general regula- 
tions for the working of a school. A school is an as- 
sembly of pupils differing in age, ability, and acquired 
knowledge, who are placed under the direction of teach- 
ers for a number of years. These pupils are grouped 
into classes, each class having its special Time Table and 
Programme. 

The general principles of organization and teaching 
must be adapted to meet local requirements. Organi- 
zation is rational, if, taking into account the special 
circumstances of each school, it facilitates as much as 
possible the work of the teachers and pupils. It should 
direct the teachers in the use of the best methods and 
processes, and place the pupils in the most favorable 
conditions for their mental and moral development. 



CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON TEACHING. 

Teaching is the methodical communication of knowl- 
edge to pupils by the teacher who instructs them. The 
value of teaching depends on the excellence of the end 
proposed, and on certain general conditions which shall 
be specified. 

47 



48 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

I. — End of Teaching. 

Teaching has in reahty but one end, to give the pupil 
as complete a moulding as his age, social standing, and 
the position he is destined to fill may require. However, 
three elements may be distinguished in this one end: 
the acquisition of knowledge, the culture of the faculties, 
and the development of the moral and Christian sense. 

Instruction is a precise and systematized body of 
knowledge which the pupil assimilates by personal work: 
precise, for no one is an instructed man who has only 
vague, obscure, incomplete ideas of things; systematized, 
for to know properly is to know things in their causes, 
and consequently to link together in the mind principles 
and consequences, laws and their phenomena; assimi- 
lated, for true knowledge is nothing artificial, applied to 
the mind from without or simply stored in the memory, 
but it consists of systems of truths that become an inte- 
gral part of the mind, and are organized in it to become 
as active as itself. It may be asserted that an intelligent 
pupil who leaves the primary school after having seri- 
ously followed the programme, is in reality better in- 
structed than another who has been merely a listener to 
more advanced teaching of which he retains only badly 
understood and disconnected notions. However im- 
portant instruction may be, it is much less so than the 
education of the faculties; for, "the moulding of the mind 
is more important than its progress." The school 
should prepare its pupils, not for examinations and com- 
petitions, but for life. Now, it is not the man who 
has most knowledge, who — other things being equal — is 
best fitted for entering a certain career and succeeding in 
it; it is rather the man who is quick in taking hold of 
ideas, seeing what they lead to, and then making use of 
his own experience, and that of others. In other words 
it is not "crammed" heads but trained ones that do the 
best and most practical thinking. 

To attain this end, the teaching of every specialty 
should, in method, procedure, and knowledge imparted, 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON TEACHING. 49 

aim at the education of all the faculties of the pupil. 
The exclusive exercise of any one faculty would destroy 
the balance and harmony of the mind; it would produce 
a deformity, something like the bodily deformity pro- 
duced by the excessive growth of a limb. If one study, 
mathematics for instance, gives a better training to the 
judgment by constantly using deductive reasoning, it 
does not exclude the exercise of memory and imagina- 
tion; if another, such as the recitation of poems, seems to 
depend chiefly on memory, it supposes and requires 
explanations that develop imagination, judgment, and 
moral sense. Besides, a lesson is educative in propor- 
tion to the efforts of the teacher to make it so. His 
great art is to teach with his whole soul, and to grasp, so 
to say, the whole soul of each of his pupils. A lesson in 
history may deeply move the sensibility by the patriotic 
enthusiasm it excites; it must exercise the practical 
judgment by the application of moral law to the deeds 
it tells of; it must speak to reason by the relations of 
cause and effect it holds out to view; and raise up the 
soul to God by showing how He rules earthly happen- 
ings by the eternal laws of His Providence. And let it 
not be said that only advanced courses can be thus dealt 
with, and produce so complex an effect on the faculties; 
for teachers who, by long experience and great love 
for children, have discovered the secrets of elementary 
teaching, well know the many different notions a single 
lesson properly prepared can make intelligible to minds 
that are just opening. 

Lastly, and principally, the time spent by pupils in 
school is a time of preparation for the labors and the 
moral struggles to which all human life owes its great- 
ness and merits. Teachers should, therefore, develop 
in their pupils moral and Christian sense, form in their 
conscience firm convictions, and, by the help of God, 
lead the will to cling resolutely to duty by the habit of 
virtue. 



50 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

II. — Characteristics of Good Teaching. 

Good teaching aims first of all at realizing the intel- 
lectual education of pupils; for this purpose it should be 
rational and adapted to the intelligences that receive it. 
It stimulates the assimilation of knowledge by exciting the 
activity of the pupils; but it will succeed in this only when 
it is living and active in the lessons, slowly progressive 
in its advance, applied to varied exercises, checked by 
methods of careful verification, and repeated by recapitu- 
lation. It is constant in the employment of means ac- 
knowledged to be efficacious, for such constancy alone 
can secure success; it is practical, so as to prepare the 
pupils for their future positions in social life; it is moral 
and Christian, to guide them toward their eternal destiny. 

Teaching should be rational. It will be such if the 
teacher satisfies himself that the subjects and the means 
he employs in teaching them are beneficial to the 
pupils; if he conforms to the nature and the mode of 
action of the faculties of his pupils, and develops them 
harmoniously; and if he exercises chiefly their reason 
and judgment. The gardener adapts his care to the 
nature of plants; with much greater reason should a 
skilful teacher endeavor to base his instruction on the 
laws that govern the human mind, and particularly those 
that rule in the acquisition of knowledge. The intelli- 
gence in admitting truth is satisfied only when teaching 
is clear, logical, and convincing; and, therefore, what- 
ever be the subject treated, and the aptitude of the pupils, 
the teacher should: (i) Base his assertions on proofs 
which he has made inteUigible by sufficient explanations; 
(2) proceed from the known to the unknown, from the 
near to the remote, from the simple to the complex, and, 
when possible, from the particular to the general, from 
the concrete to the abstract, from the sensible to the 
immaterial; (3) omit nothing essential in the questions 
explained; (4) s.how how the different ideas relating to 
the same subject are connected; (5) endeavor himself to 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON TEACHING. 5 1 

acquire not only knowledge but the method of commu- 
nicating it with the propriety and clearness which will 
infallibly shed light on minds. 

Teaching should be adapted to the intelligence of 
the pupils. Truth communicated by teaching has often 
been compared to food, which becomes profitable only 
by assimilation. This comparison is justified by the 
general likeness between the work that transforms food 
into our substance, and that which changes acquired 
notions into personal knowledge. The intelligence of 
the child has special exigencies; for it is weak, little 
exercised, wholly given up to impressions and ideas that 
come from without, unskilful in abstract deductions, 
easily carried away by distraction from the object pre- 
sented to it, incapable of receiving, and especially of 
classifying many notions without confounding them. 
Consequently, a wise teacher will not try to teach pupils 
all that he knows on a given subject, but only what is 
necessary and opportune; and he will introduce great 
variety into school exercises, in order to excite interest, 
and maintain ardor in work. 

Common-sense, a little experience, and docility tow- 
ard those who guide him, will point out to the teacher 
the ordin»ary road to follow to keep within reach of the 
pupils. He must come within their reach, but not de- 
scend to their level; for this would often mean sinking to 
puerility and triviality, and would not be educating, 
which means bringing up. A notion is within the reach 
of a child, when he can by a moderate effort, and with 
the help of his teacher, grasp it, understand it, and make 
use of it in exercises. This effort is necessary; but if it 
be excessive the child is thrown into discouragement by 
weariness or inability. 

Teaching should be living and active. On the part of the 
teacher, it is living when he teaches with animation and 
ardor that enhven the pupils, when he presents knowledge 
under its most captivating aspect, and throws himself so 
much into the lesson that he may be said to live in it. 



52 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Two defects, dulness and routine, may take away from 
a lesson its activity and life. Dulness arises from the 
exclusive use of the book, the want of personal initiative, 
commonplace oral explanations, the monotony of the 
exercises given to the pupils, and sometimes from the 
want of taste for study, and of care in the preparation 
of lessons. The book is dry and silent, and if not ani- 
mated by the voice of the teacher, it is almost powerless 
to enlighten and warm young minds. Routine destroys, 
little by little, the personal character of the teaching, to 
substitute hahit, which becomes less and less voluntary — 
a mechanical and almost automatic way of acting. The 
teacher who is dominated by routine repeats every year 
the same lessons, in nearly the same words, with the same 
monotonous formulas, and perhaps with diminishing at- 
tention and success. When routine has persisted for 
some considerable time, it produces disaffection toward 
the teacher, and then a sort of numbness which changes 
to hopeless apathy. To fight against dulness, the teach- 
er should limit himself to useful explanations, and devote 
plenty of time to questioning. He must struggle against 
routine by assiduous work, and conscientious prepara- 
tion of lessons. For a teacher who remains a long time 
in the same class, this is the only means of brightening 
his lessons by new ideas, perfecting his methods, keep- 
ing up his own love of study, and of being, as he ought 
to be, a man of progress. Besides, the intellectual train- 
ing of pupils is not otherwise possible; for teaching 
that is dull, cold, and full of routine, wearies and disgusts 
them. 

On the part oj the pupils, teaching is animated if it 
exercises their faculties, captivates their attention, and 
stimulates their curiosity; if the questions are within 
their reach, and calculated to make them draw the 
consequences from the principles laid down; in a word, 
if the method employed makes them collaborators in 
the lesson. This is the most powerful means of training 
the judgment, rectifying errors, and teaching correct rea- 
soning — it is the very soul of teaching. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON TEACHING. 53 

Teaching should be slowly progressive, repeated, 
applied to exercises, and checked by questioning. Most 
of the ideas furnished by teaching are new to the child's 
intelligence; and hence he must get sufficient time to 
grasp, classify, retain, and assimilate them. The teacher 
should guard: (i) Against precipitation — skimming rap- 
idly over difficulties; (2) against a false simplification — 
mutilating certain subjects under pretext of explaining 
only essentials; (3) against indiscreet haste, and undue 
pressure in making children study. He may discover, 
by a few well-directed questions, whether the children 
understand what he teaches. But as the best under- 
stood rules, and the clearest demonstrations, are likely 
to be forgotten if the teaching be only oral, pupils should 
be made to do written exercises, which must afterward 
be carefully corrected. 

Teaching should persevere in definite methods. To 

change without a very good reason the general method 
of teaching, even for the sake of avoiding routine, would 
confuse the mind and weaken the will; for nothing is 
more opposed to good mental habits than frequent 
changes. Experience confirms what reason says, viz., 
that the best results obtained from the pupils are due to 
the constancy with which the teacher works according 
to determinate methods and processes; this fixity gives 
birth to confidence, and communicates to minds a last- 
ing energy. 

Teaching should be practical in its tendency. One 

of the actual preoccupations of primary and secondary 
teaching is to be practical, that is, to adapt to the wants 
of life the knowledge given in school. This is legitimate 
provided that the intellectual and moral training of the 
children be not thereby sacrificed.^ Teaching may be 
made practical in two ways: (i) By a general adaptation 

1 This tendency is not new. Fenelon wrote in 1687: "The great point 
is to give children a practical knowledge of things." This is what St. John 
Baptist De La Salle (i 651-17 19) did in adapting the programmes of studies 
in his primary and secondary schools to the needs of those who frequented 
them. 



54 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

of the studies to the social condition and the future of 
the pupils; (2) by a special adaptation of these studies 
to local needs. 

Teaching should be moral and Christian. By its 

greater utilitarian tendency nowadays, teaching, accord- 
ing to a common saying, purposes *'to arm pupils for 
life." Now, for these struggles for existence man is 
''armed," not only by what he has in his brain, but also 
and still more by what is in his soul. It is therefore by 
moral and religious education that teaching becomes a 
real preparation for life. But to strengthen the con- 
victions and the Christian practices of pupils, it will not 
suffice to devote daily to catechism and exhortation all 
the time allotted to them on the time-table; a Christian 
spirit must permeate all the school exercises. The supe- 
rior unity of teaching is so much the more complete, and 
the moral training of pupils the more assured, as the 
Christian spirit is more dominant in the classes. 



CHAPTER II. 

DIVISIONS AND PROGRAMMES. 

I. — Classes and Grades. 

Number of classes in a school. Every school should 
be divided into at least two classes; and most schools 
consist of from three to six; the number depends on the 
school attendance. It is of the greatest importance that 
the children be grouped according to their abilities and 
previous knowledge, and that the lessons given them be 
in keeping with their capabilities. 

Grades. 

Whatever the number of the classes may be, the pupils 
should be grouped in two divisions: 
The primary department or school, for children of six 



DIVISIONS AND PROGRAMMES. 55 

to ten years, and the grammar department or school, for 
children of ten to fourteen years. 

Each year's work constitutes a grade. The work of the 
first year is known as the first grade, and that of the eighth 
or last year as the eighth grade. 

The first four grades are known as the primary grades, 
and the last four as the grammar grades. 

In addition, there might be a class specially organized 
for children of five and six years, known as the prepara- 
tory class, and a high-school class for pupils wishing to 
continue their studies beyond the grammar grades. 

In a school the number of classes does not always cor- 
respond to the number of grades. It often happens that 
one class comprises two different grades, or that the same 
course is followed in two distinct classes. 

ARRANGEMENT OF GRADES 
In Elementary Schools of 

Twr, PooMc ^ "* teacher : Grammar grades. 
Two Rooms ^ ^d teacher : Primary grades. 

( ist teacher: Grammar grades. 

Three Rooms «c 2d teacher: 3d and 4th grades. 

( 3d teacher: ist and 2d grades. 

Tist teacher: 7th and 8th grades. 

Tr„. _ D ^ I 2d teacher: 5th and 6th grades. 

Four Rooms ^ ^^ ^^^^^^^. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ 

V4th teacher: ist and 2d grades. 

fist teacher : 7th and 8th grades. 

I 2d teacher : 5th and 6th grades. 

Five Rooms J 3d teacher : 4th grade. 

j 4th teacher: 2d and 3d grades. 

I 5th teacher: ist grade. 

I I St teacher: 7th and 8th grades. 
2d teacher : 6th grade. 
3d teacher: 5th grade. 
4th teacher: 4th grade. 
5th teacher : 2d and 3d grades. 
6th teacher : ist grade, 
'ist teacher: 7th and 8th grades. 
2d teacher : 6th grade. 
3d teacher : 5th grade. 
Seven Rooms -{ 4th teacher: 4th grade. 
5th teacher : 3d grade. 
6th teacher: 2d grade. 
V7th teacher : ist grade. 

Note. — \\Tienever work of high -school grade is required in schools having less 
than nine rooms, assign one room for that work and arrange the elementary work as 
provided for above. 



56 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

It must be borne in mind that it is not the age of the 
child which should determine the division in which he is 
to be placed, but rather the extent of his knowledge and 
his facility for learning. Schools of seven or eight classes 
admit of better organization in the way of teaching, 
since the number corresponds, more or less, with the 
duration of the school life. If the school comprise six or 
more classes, each class might be subdivided into two 
sections, following the same programme of studies; in 
this way the clever pupils might be kept together, instead 
of being held back. 

Preparatory class. This class should have the partic- 
ular attention of the teacher, for the success of the school 
largely depends on the training given in it. It is ad- 
visable to put it in charge of an experienced teacher. 
If this is not possible, the principal should give every 
assistance to the young teacher, and make up for his 
shortcomings by suggestions and advice. He should 
note the daily progress of this class — for the first reading 
lessons and copybooks, as well as the first piece of reci- 
tation, are great events in every home circle. If a child 
makes rapid progress, and is fond of his studies and con- 
tented, it speaks well for the school and the efforts of the 
teachers. Parents in such a case will continue to send 
their children there. On the other hand, if they find 
that their children make but little progress and are dis- 
contented, they will send them elsewhere. This is of 
course detrimental to a school; and even if the vacant 
places be refilled, the constant change is a clear proof 
that there is something radically wrong in the manage- 
ment. 

The teacher should remember how essential it is that 
the lessons in the preparatory class be of short duration. 
An interval of repose occasionally will serve to freshen 
the mind. The subjects ought to be varied by object 
lessons interspersed with appropriate stories. The spon- 
taneous activity of the pupils must be the great aim of 
the teachers, and be the animating spirit of each lesson. 



DIVISIONS AND PROGRAMMES. 57 

The little children should, from time to time, during the 
class hours, have some manual exercises and recreative 
employments. A change of place and posture is an 
absolute physical necessity. At fixed times they should 
march in file to the recreation hall or playground, and 
go through some drill or gymnastic exercises together. 
This will give them fresh energy to continue their stud- 
ies when they return to the class-room. 

II. — Programmes. 

Subjects of the programme. The programme of studies 
in a common school should be essentially practical. It 
comprises: Religious and moral instruction, reading, 
writing, grammar, spelling, composition, arithmetic, 
practical geometry, history, geography, object lessons 
and the elements of science, principles of agriculture, 
elementary drav/ing, singing, and gymnastic exercises. 

Subdivision of the programme. Toward the close of 
the vacation, the principal might arrange for the monthly 
work to be done by each class during the entire scholas- 
tic year. In arranging this programme, he should attend 
to the following points: 

1. The parts of each subject to be studied should be 
definitely specified. 

2. Much work should not be assigned for the first two 
months of the year, but the length and difficulty may be 
increased for the months from November to May. 

3. There ought to be time set apart for recapitula- 
tions and reviews, which always prove beneficial in 
impressing on the mind the essential points of any 
subject. 

At the beginning of each month, the teachers should 
consult their programme, and fix on the amount of work 
they are obliged to get through weekly and even daily. 
But if a teacher find it necessary to dwell at greater 
length on some special points, on account of the difficulty 
they present, he need not adhere strictly to the arrange- 



58 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

ment of time set down, but may act on his own dis- 
cretion. 

Adaptation of a programme for two sections in the same 
class. As a rule, there is but one programme for the dif- 
ferent sections of the same class. Collective lessons are 
strongly recommended, and nearly all the subjects taught 
in elementary schools are well adapted to this mode of 
teaching. Such lessons are very beneficial to the entire 
class, for the groundwork of any subject is necessary 
and suitable for every pupil. The teacher may then add 
any details, facts, or remarks suitable for the more ad- 
vanced pupils, and from which the most intelligent of the 
lower section would derive some information. However, 
for some subjects, arithmetic for example, the sections 
must work separately: while one is receiving an oral les- 
son, the other may work silently on slate or paper. 

Every one who has ever taught knows the importance 
and necessity of preparing lessons. Unprepared lessons 
are apt to be wanting in definiteness. Therefore, in 
order to avoid indecision on the part of the teacher and 
loss of time for the pupils, this preparation should com- 
prise: the matter to be taught, the parts to be memorized 
by the pupils, the exercises to be written in class or at 
home, and the method of correcting the work. It is 
very advantageous to take notes of these various items, 
so that none of them may escape attention. The teacher 
would do well to have a note-book for this special pur- 
pose. 

CHAPTER III. 
TIME-TABLES. 

No definite time-table can be laid down, because of 
the various conditions of different schools, and the nu- 
merous points to be taken into consideration for each. 
Every teacher must prepare one to suit his own class. 
In drawing up a time-table, the following principles 
should be observed: 



TIME-TABLES. 59 

1. The time given to each subject must vary according 
to its importance and utiHty, having regard to the diffi- 
culties it may present to the children. 

2. The length of the lessons will depend on the age 
of the pupils and their powers of concentration: the 
younger they are, the more need they have of variety 
in their occupations. 

3. Lessons should succeed one another in such order 
that one faculty may not be overtaxed while the others 
are left inactive. 

4. The lessons demanding most strenuous effort, 
should come when the children are fresh: early in the 
morning session, or immediately after recreation. 

5. Noisy lessons ought to be so distributed that, as 
far as possible, they may not interfere with one another. 

I. — Upper Grammar Grades. 

9.00 o'clock — Morning prayers. 

Hearing of home studies and correction 
of written work. 
9.45 " — Language. Explanation of written work 

to be presented next day. 
10.30 " — History or geography. 
1 1. 1 5 " — Writing (three times a week) or elements 

of natural science. 
11.45 " — Prayer and dismissal. 
1. 00 " — Prayer and explanation of catechism. 
1.30 '^ — Arithmetic. 

2.30 '' — Elements of geometry or drawing. 
3.00 " — Reading of English classics or object 

lessons. 
3.30 " — Prayer and dismissal. 

II. — Lower Grammar Grades. 

9.00 o'clock — Morning prayer, inspection of cleanliness, 
hearing of home studies, and correc- 
tion of written work. 

9.45 " —Reading. 



6o ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

10.30 o'clock — Language. 

1 1. 1 5 " — Writing. 

11.45 " — Prayer and dismissal. 

1. 00 " — Prayer and explanation of the catechism. 

1.30 " — Arithmetic. 

2.30 " — History or geography. 

3.00 " — Reading of English classics or object 
lessons. 

3.30 '' — Prayer and dismissal. 

III. — Primary Grades. 

— Morning prayer, recitation of home 

studies and reading. 
— Exercises in numbers. 
— Inspection of cleanliness and recreation. 
— Writing. 

— Second exercise in reading. 
— Prayer and dismissal. 
— Catechism. 

— Reading and elocutionary recitations. 
— Writing or drawing. 
— Recreation. 

— Memory exercises: poetry, tables, etc. 
— Recitation of prayers and catechism. 

Wednesday, singing. 

MINUTES PER WEEK. 



Opening Exercises . 
Religious Instruction 

Language 

Mathematics .... 

Drawing, etc 

Music 

Hygiene and Physical Training 
Penmanship .... 
Nature Study .... 
Geography .... 

History 

Unassigned .... 



9.00 


'clock 


9-45 
0.15 
0.30 




1. 00 




1.30 




1. 00 




1.30 




2.00 




2.30 




2.45 
3.00 





Primary 


Grades, 












] 


[ 


2 






4 


[ 


A 


B 


A 


B 


a" 


B 


A 


B 


75 


75 


75 


75 


75 


75 


75 


75 


. 180 


180 


180 


180 


180 


180 


180 


I So 


4SO 


450 


450 


450 


500 


500 


400 


360 


200 


200 


250 


250 


250 


250 


300 


300 


150 


150 


150 


150 


TOO 


100 


100 


100 


60 


60 


60 


60 


60 


60 


60 


60 


200 


200 


175 


175 


175 


175 


120 


120 


100 


100 


130 


130 


130 


130 


130 


130 


go 


90 


90 


90 


90 


go 


go 


go 














125 


125 
90 


14s 


145 


90 


90 


90 


90 


70 


20 



OFFICIAL REGISTERS AND EXERCISE-BOOKS. 6 1 



Grammar Grades. 

5 6 

A B A B 

Opening Exercises .... 75 75 75 75 

Religious Instruction . . . 180180 180 1 80 

Language 360 360 360 360 

Mathematics 300 300 300 300 

Drawing, etc 100 100 100 100 

Music 60 60 60 60 

Hygiene and Physical Training . 100 100 100 100 

Penmanship 125 125 120 120 

Nature Study 75 75 

Geography 125 125 120 120 

History 120 120 120 120 

Elementary Science 

Book-keeping 

Electives 

Unassigned 30 30 105 105 



A B 


A 


B 


75 75 
180 180 


75 
180 


75 
180 


360 360 


360 360 


300 300 
90 80 


300 
80 


300 
80 


60 60 


60 


60 


90 90 


90 


90 


90 90 






100 100 


... 




120 120 


120 


120 


90 80 


80 


80 


... 90 


100 


100 





175 


175 


95 25 


30 


30 



CHAPTER IV. 

OFFICIAL REGISTERS AND PUPILS' EXERCISE- 
BOOKS. 

I.— The Official Registers. 

The register of entrance. This register is kept by 
the principal, whose office it is to arrange with the par- 
ents about the child's admission into the school. The 
name and surname of each child are entered in it; the date 
of birth and that of admission into the school; the name, 
occupation, and residence of the parents or guardians. 
The date and cause of the pupil's withdrawal from 
school are also entered therein, and a short and carefully 
worded note as to his conduct and work while attending 
school. 

The roll-book. This book is used to mark the at- 
tendance of pupils. 

The report-book. This book shows at a glance the 
number on the rolls in the several classes, and the num- 
ber present in each. Hence the average attendance can 
be calculated daily. 



62 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



II. — Books for the Use of the Teacher. 

Register of competitions. The object of this register 
is to keep account of class examinations. One column 
contains an alphabetical list of the pupils. To each 
subject is allotted one large column, which may be 
divided into as many smaller columns as the teacher 
intends to have competitions. There should be at least 
one a month. The data of this register serve as a guide 
in the distributing of prizes among the pupils at the 
close of the scholastic year. 

Class memorandum and preparation note-book. The 

class memorandum is a register in which are written 
brief outlines of the lessons given during the course of the 
day, and also notes and references derived from a careful 
preparation for class. 

Memorial. This book contains a list of the children's 
names in alphabetical order, and shows at a glance 
whether a child is strong or weak in prayers and other 
memory lessons. The names of the different memory 
lessons are written at the heads of columns. Each time 
a child knows an answer thoroughly, at the general reci- 
tation of the lesson, a mark is placed opposite his name 
in the corresponding column. A different sign will re- 
mind the teacher of certain items the child has not yet 
sufficiently committed to memory. 

The knowledge of the principal truths of rehgion and 
the practice of the duties of a Christian, are matters of 
such importance that a teacher should not be content 
until he knows the extent of religious instruction and the 
general conduct of each pupil. For this purpose, he 
should hold an examination in religious instruction at 
the opening of the scholastic year. He may then put a 
mark after each child's name, indicating the manner in 
which he has answered: low marks indicating those who 
are not sufficiently grounded in the truths necessary to 
salvation. The teacher ought to make it a point to 



OFFICIAL REGISTERS AND EXERCISE-BOOKS. 63 

question the latter frequently on these important truths, 
especially on the eves of holidays and on Sundays; and 
to hold general examinations at least two or three times 
a year. 

The freedom allowed to children in frequenting the 
Sacraments should not prevent the teacher from pru- 
dently noting their conduct in this respect, and giving 
them good advice from time to time. 

III. — The Pupils' Exercise-books. 

Number of exercise-books. The pupils should not 
have many exercise-books; they would fill them slowly, 
and be apt to keep them in a slovenly condition. The 
teacher must determine the number necessary for the 
exercises of the pupils. 

Sometimes the children write all their daily exercises 
in one book, known as the ''General Exercise-book." 
When this is the case, they should have two of these 
books, so that while the teacher is correcting one, the 
pupils can work in the other. For many reasons, a 
separate book for each subject is preferable; the work 
looks neater, more methodical, and is easier to examine. 
In the grammar grade the pupils should have, as a 
rule, three or four different exercise-books, and keep the 
subjects bearing on one another in the same book. 

In many schools the senior pupils have the following 
exercise-books: 

1. One for grammar, and the various branches of the 
mother-tongue done in class: dictation, analysis, and 
exercises in lexicology. 

2. One for composition, as this subject requires a 
particular mode of correction. 

3. One for mathematical problems, the metric system, 
exercises in geometry, etc. 

4. A Home Exercise-book for English, history, geog- 
raphy, arithmetic, etc. Every pupil might have two 
such books, so as to be able always to leave one with the 
teacher for correction. 



64 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

5. A head-line copybook. 

6. A book for map-drawing. 

The exercise-books should be kept in perfect order, 
clean, neat, and not crumpled at the corners. Each 
pupil might have a pad in which he could work problems, 
sketch maps, etc., before doing them finally in his exer- 
cise-book. 

The "circulating" exercise-book. This book is kept 
in many schools for the upper and lower grammar grades. 
Each pupil in rotation has the use of it for one day, for 
his exercises, problems, dictations, etc. It takes the place 
of his own exercise-book for that special day, and is cor- 
rected in a similar manner. At the beginning of each 
day's class, the pupil who is to have the book writes in 
it the day of the week and date. For example: 

Exercise for Tuesday morning — 29th March, 1904. 

Exercise for Monday afternoon — 28th May, 1904. 
If a holiday occurs it is noted in this book, and if it be 
an extra one, the reason for it is explained. Oral lessons 
which do not require written work should be also noted. 
Thus this copybook will show, at a glance, the work done 
daily and hourly by the class. At the end of school 
hours, the pupil signs his name at the bottom of the last 
page of his work, and leaves the book on the teacher's 
desk. 

All the circulating exercise-books of each class 
should be preserved, so that when an inspector comes to 
visit the classes, he may, by consulting these exercises, 
easily form an accurate idea of the work done in the 
various classes, and of the way the teacher interprets 
and carries out the programme. 



MODES AND METHODS OF TEACHING. 65 

CHAPTER V. 

MODES AND METHODS OF TEACHING. 
I. — Modes of Teaching. 

By the term mode in pedagogy is meant the manner in 
which the teacher exercises his action in the instruction 
of pupils. The chief modes are: the individual, the si- 
multaneous, the mutual, and the mutual-simultaneous. 

The individual mode. The teacher who instructs his 
pupils by giving them, individually, lessons on each sub- 
ject, follows the individual mode.^ This style of teach- 
ing is suitable for private tuition only. It has been alto- 
gether excluded from public schools owing to the loss 
of time it causes. 

The simultaneous mode. The teacher instructs ac- 
cording to this mode when in giving lessons he addresses 
the whole class; or when combining the pupils of equal 
capacity into sections, he teaches one of these sections 
while the others are studying. 

The advantages of the simultaneous mode — a mode 
which we owe to the genius of St. John Baptist De La 
Salle — are unquestionable, especially in a school re- 
quiring several assistant teachers; for each teacher, 
having few subdivisions in his class, can give the pupils 
longer lessons and more constant attention. And by 
bringing the teacher into direct contact with his pupils, 
it gives him the means of developing their intellectual 
faculties, studying their characters and dispositions, and 
training their hearts to virtue. 

The mutual mode. A teacher instructs according to 
the mutual mode when he divides his pupils into a cer- 
tain number of sections, and gets more advanced pupils, 
called monitors, to give the lessons, while he confines 

1 This was the general mode employed till the seventeenth century. 



66 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

himself to the supervision of the general order of the 
class. ^ 

This mode of teaching has many serious disadvan- 
tages: (i) It fails in establishing direct intercourse be- 
tween the teacher and his pupils— in fact he is a stranger 
to them; (2) good monitors are rare, and the instruction 
given by pupils is generally puerile and of no educa- 
tional value; (3) no matter how strict and careful the 
supervision may be, the moral influence of monitors on 
pupils is disastrous. For these reasons the mutual mode 
has become almost obsolete. 

The mutual -simultaneous mode. In some large 
classes, and in those comprising several sections, the 
teacher is obliged to call upon monitors to hear the chil- 
dren repeat their lessons, while he himself teaches each 
section alternately, using the simultaneous mode. This 
manner of conducting a school is known as the mutual- 
simultaneous. It is chiefly employed in primary classes; 
but in all others, the simultaneous mode should, as a 
rule, be preferred. However, the function of monitors 
in the mutual-simultaneous mode is different from that 
in the mutual: in the former the monitors merely hear the 
lessons, in the latter they are the sole teachers. 



II. — Methods of Teaching. 

By method of teaching is understood the way followed 
by the teacher in giving his lessons. 

The two general methods of teaching are: 

1. The Dogmatic Method. 

2. The Inventive Method. 

The dogmatic method is also styled the explanatory or 
affirmative; and the inventive, the interrogative or Socra- 
tic method. 

1 The mutual mode, which many consider a recent invention, was used 
in ancient Rome and among the Hindoos, where nionitors were employed 
at least as readers, but it was systematically organized toward the end of 
the eighteenth century in England and America, by Bell and Lancaster. 



MODES AND METHODS OF TEACHING. 67 

Dogmatic method. A teacher is said to employ the 
dogmatic method when, in giving a lesson, he explains 
the subject-matter in the form of a lecture, and then 
questions the pupils, in order to ascertain whether they 
have understood and remembered his explanations. 
This method is rarely used in lower grammar grades, on 
account of the difficulty of fixing the attention of young 
children for any length of time on the same subject. It 
is generally used in teaching the higher grades. 

In the use of this method the teacher must have regard 
to: (i) The amount of attention which may be reasonably 
expected; (2) the nature of certain subjects that can be 
more effectively taught by the dogmatic than by the 
interrogative method; (3) the extent of the programme, 
which may require expeditious methods on account of 
the many subjects to be treated. Two examples of this 
method are subjoined: 

I. The Noun. I write on the black-board: Leo, 
George, miller, master, pupil, merchant. Then I say to 
the pupils: ''The word Leo stands for a person, the word 
George, for a person, the word miller, for a person, so do 
the words master and pupil. All words that stand for 
persons are called nouns.'' Then I give this exercise: 
''Write down all the names of persons in page ... of the 
reading-book." 

The same day, or next day, I write on the black-board 
the words horse, mule, bird, fish. Then I say: "The 
word horse stands for an animal, etc. All words that 
signify animals are nouns." I give as exercise: "Write 
all the names of animals in page ... of the reading-book." 

In a third exercise, I explain in the same way that the 
words stone, water, iron, sugar, are names of things; and 
then give a corresponding exercise. 

I now question on these three categories of nouns, and 
conclude dogmatically by the definition of the noun: 
A noun is the name which designates a person, a place, or 
a thing. • 

II. Division. In arithmetic, if I wish to explain the 



68 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

theory of division of whole numbers, I give first of all 
the definition: Division is an operation by which I find 
how many times one number, called dividend, contains 
another number, called divisor. The result of the opera- 
tion is called quotient. Then I work some exercises with 
divisors having successively one, two, three, . . . figures. 
After this I state that the product of the quotient and 
the divisor, increased by the remainder, should equal the 
dividend; then as a check on the preceding operations, 
I perform the multiplication: this will be the proof. 
The pupils have not taken part in the explanation: it is, 
therefore, a dogmatic proof. 

Inventive method. A teacher employs the inventive 
method when, by means of a series of well-chosen ques- 
tions, he leads the children to think out for themselves 
the fact he wishes to teach them. Whenever possible, 
especially in the lower and middle divisions, this method 
of teaching should be used. The teacher's questioning 
maintains the attention of pupils, excites their curiosity, 
and stimulates their mental faculties; it accustoms 
them to reasoning, and develops habits of observation 
and research. 

It is essential to bear in mind \.h.2iiSocratic questioning 
is quite different from questioning by way of examina- 
tion. The object of Socratic questions is to ascertain 
whether the pupils have understood the lessons, princi- 
ples, or definitions — such questions appeal especially to 
reflection; questions asked at the beginning of religious 
instruction, relative to truths taught the day before, or 
those asked in the course of a lesson on grammar, his- 
tory, etc., to discover if such and such a rule, remark, or 
historical fact has not been forgotten, are examination 
questions — they appeal especially to memory. By ex- 
amination questions the pupils are made to repeat that 
which they have learned; by Socratic questions they are 
led to find out something which they did not know before. 

The inventive method is employed with advantage in 
primary teaching, but it presents more difi&culty than the 



MODES AND METHODS OF TEACHING. 69 

dogmatic method. The two are often employed alter- 
nately in the same lesson. Experience will enable a 
teacher to pass with ease from one to the other, accord- 
ing to the requirements of the lesson, and the capabilities 
of his pupils. Two examples of lessons taught by the 
inventive method are here given. 

I. Suppose I have to make children understand the 
use of the qualifying adjective, I may proceed thus: 

1. Get the children to name the several objects they 
see around them: table, wall, black-board, ball, chalk, 
etc.; and write these names on the black-board. 

2. Get the children to tell the color and form of these 
objects: long, black, high, gray, square, round, white, 
etc.; and write the words on the board beside the names 
of the things that they characterize. 

3. Tell them that these words mark the qualities oj the 
objects mentioned, and are called qualifying adjectives. 

II. In teaching imitation drawing, if, after a lesson on 
the cube, we have to study by comparison the cube and 
the rectangular square prism, I show the cube, and ques- 
tion thus: 

What is this object? It is a cube. 

How do you know? It has six square sides. 

And this (showing the prism) ? It is not a cube. 

Why? Because the six sides are not squares. 

What is the shape of the sides that are not squares? 
They are rectangles. 

How many of them are there? There are four. 

In all how many sides has this object? It has six, as 
the cube has. 

What is their form? Four are rectangular, and two 
are square. 

Where are the two square sides? At the two ends of 
the solid. 

These ends are called bases. What difference is there 
between this object and the cube? The cube has six 
square sides, and this has only two; the other sides are 
rectangles. 

This solid is called a rectangular prism with a square 



70 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

base. (I write these words on the black-board, and the 
pupils copy them in their books.) 

Heuristic process. As dogmatic teaching is to be tested 
by examination questions, Socratic teaching should be 
tested by exercises which will show whether the mat- 
ter explained has been understood by the pupils, and 
whether they are able to apply and to generalize their 
knowledge. With this object the teacher should briefly 
indicate an exercise to be performed, leaving the details 
of invention and execution to the pupils themselves: as 
problems to be solved, analysis of sentences, plan of a 
composition to be developed. As in the execution of this 
work, the pupils themselves should act and think, it is 
called the heuristic process — from a Greek word which 
signifies to find out by reflection. This process develops 
the intellect, since it obliges the children to attend and 
reflect. It is suitable for advanced pupils only, and for 
subjects depending principally on reason and judgment. 

III. — ^Analysis and S5mthesis. 

Analysis and synthesis are the two ways the mind may 
follow in the study of ideas, facts, or objects; they are 
also the two ways open to the teacher, whatever be the 
general method, dogmatic or Socratic, he may have 
adopted. As processes of teaching, analysis and syn- 
thesis are experimental or rational. 

Experimental analysis and synthesis. From an em- 
pirical point of view, analysis and synthesis are the re- 
verse of each other, and may check each other. The 
first decomposes an object into its elements; the second 
recomposes this object with the same elements. In physics, 
for example, the decomposition of the sunlight by the 
prism, and the recomposition of white light by combin- 
ing two similar prisms, with their refracting edges turned 
in opposite directions, and their adjacent faces parallel, 
may be considered as the analysis and synthesis of white 
light. 



MODES AND METHODS OF TEACHING. 7 1 

Rational analysis and synthesis. Science is not con- 
tent with a knowledge of facts; it tries especially to ex- 
plain them. To explain is to link a particular truth to a 
more general one, a consequence to its principle, an ef- 
fect to its cause, a phenomenon to its law. Now, expla- 
nation may follow two different ways, opposed to each 
other: it may proceed from the general to the particular 
— this is synthesis; or from particular to general — this 
is analysis. The first is conformable to logical order, 
which puts the principle before the consequence, the 
cause before the effect. It is the natural trend of our 
mind, which explains things by their reasons. Synthe- 
sis is, therefore, a progressive and direct method, and 
analysis a regressive or inverse one. 

Choice between analysis and synthesis in teaching. 

In teaching, synthetic presentation is generally preferred, 
being more direct, rapid, elegant, and satisfying to the 
mind. Physical sciences, which are essentially induc- 
tive and analytical in their development, have a marked 
tendency to become deductive and synthetic in the mode 
of presentation; so much so that their progress is noted 
by the use they can make of the synthetic method. 

From the pedagogical point of view, it is well to add 
here a very important remark. A teacher may propose 
to himself two distinct things that contribute very un- 
equally to the culture of the mind: to teach the pupils 
known truths found in books, or to initiate them (in a 
certain degree) into the art of seeking and discovering 
new truths by themselves. It is evident that one cannot 
become a savant without receiving lessons from masters 
of science in the laboratories of special colleges; but 
every teacher of physical science should have the ambi- 
tion to make his pupils inventive and capable of profiting 
by their personal observations. For this purpose analy- 
sis is better than synthesis, if it be analytically that the 
truth taught has been discovered: the pupil assists, so 
to say, at the discovery; he goes through it again himself 
in thought, and nothing is more apt to develop and 



72 ELEMENTS OF TRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

benefit his mind than to travel again step by step the 
route followed by the pioneers of science. Synthesis 
would perhaps initiate the student more rapidly into a 
knowledge of estabhshed truths; but analysis gives him 
the immense advantage of setting out on the road that 
may lead to personal discoveries. 

Analysis and synthesis united. In practice analysis 
and synthesis are often united in the same lesson for the 
explanation of a fact or phenomenon or the demonstra- 
tion of a theorem. Synthesis could not draw out the 
relations which the parts of a composite whole have to 
one another, without an anterior analysis of the elements; 
and besides, as analysis fixes the attention on isolated 
elements, it is necessary that it should end in synthesis, 
in order that the mind may consider a system of ideas, 
and draw from them general conclusions. When a 
teacher groups under several distinct heads the many 
causes — political, financial, social, religious, and moral — 
of the French Revolution, he synthesizes. But this syn- 
thesis is possible only when, by previous analysis, he has 
dissociated the causes of so complex an event; and to 
bring out such or such a particular cause, he must have 
recourse to analysis. 



CHAPTER VI. 
GENERAL PROCESSES OF TEACHING. 

By processes of teaching are understood the practical 
means the teacher employs, concurrently with the modes 
and methods, to make lessons clear, interesting, and 
profitable. Certain processes are followed during the 
lesson — explanatory processes; others apply to studies 
and exercises supplementary to the lesson — written and 
oral processes. 



GENERAL PROCESSES OF TEACHING. 73 

I. — Explanatory Processes. 

Intuitive and experimental processes and the use of 
the black-board are the chief means employed in explan- 
atory teaching. 

Intuitive process. A teacher employs this process 
when he substitutes a concrete object for an abstract idea, 
in order to make the idea more easily understood. To 
give the pupils an idea of numbers, units, and tens, by 
means of a ball-frame or of sticks; to show them a card- 
board square or cube, before defining these objects; to 
show and explain to them a picture representing an event 
in sacred or profane history; to use charts and maps in 
teaching geography; not to speak of the thermometer 
or the mariner's compass without showing these instru- 
ments: this is intuitive teaching. 

In the lower classes of primary schools this process is 
indispensable, if the teacher would be clearly understood, 
and not let the pupils lose time in studying words which, 
to them, are void of meaning. It is a great aid to pupils 
in all classes and for most subjects, especially for object 
lessons and elementary science. Teachers ought there- 
fore to devise suitable illustrations for concrete teaching. 

Intuitive processes train: (i) The senses, especially the 
sight; (2) the intellectual faculties: attention, imagina- 
tion, judgment, power of observing and reasoning, and 
correct expression; (3) the conscience. These processes 
should appeal to as many senses as possible, and be ap- 
plied in every grade of the school. 

Experimental process. The experimental process 
consists in proving, by means of experiments, the truth of 
a scientific assertion. It is thus connected more or less 
closely with the experimental method, which observes 
natural phenomena or produces them artificially in the 
conditions most favorable for examination. The teacher 
employs it in object lessons, and lessons in physical sci- 
ence and agriculture, for the verification and explanation 
of the phenomena studied. Experiments are immediate, 



74 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

as in physics and chemistry; or put off to a more or less 
remote epoch, as in agriculture, arboriculture, and gar- 
dening. They are made on inanimate beings, or on ani- 
mals; and consist of experiments relative to taste and 
smell, to phenomena of heat, optics, acoustics, and elec- 
tricity. Experiments on animals should not be cruel,, 
nor should they be disagreeable to onlookers. 

The following is an example of this process. Blow 
into lime-water with a reed: it becomes cloudy and white. 
The phenomenon does not occur by blowing with bellows ; 
hence we conclude that the breath contains something 
not in the air, or at least not so abundant in the air: this 
is carbonic acid. 

Experiments may precede or follow the statement of 
the theory to which they relate. The first way is more 
educative, especially if practised analytically, and ac- 
cording to the inductive method, essential to every 
experimental science. It is preferable in elementary 
teaching, in which it is so common to infer the theory 
from the experiments that show it. 

The use of the black-board. Both teacher and pupils 
should make frequent use of the black-board; it is the 
book common to the entire class. Writing, with its 
principles and head-lines; mathematics, with its demon- 
strations and solutions; history and geography, with their 
synoptical tables, charts, and sketches; drawing, with its 
various patterns; the correction of dictations, composi- 
tions, and arithmetic; and nearly all other branches of 
instruction, require the use of the black-board. It is ad- 
visable to bring the children often to the black-board to 
answer questions, by which the teacher may ascertain 
whether they have understood what has been taught 
them. 

II.— Oral and Written Processes. 

By means of oral and written processes, the teacher 
finds out whether the lessons which have been given 



GENERAL PROCESSES OF TEACHING. 75 

were understood; and whether the pupils are able to 
apply the knowledge acquired. 

These processes consist of: (i) Written exercises and 
their corrections; (2) questions on the lessons of the day, 
or on those of the week; (3) examinations, oral and 
written. 

Written exercises. Too much oral teaching is ex- 
tremely trying on a teacher; and besides, it often leaves 
only a fleeting impression on the pupils. It is necessary 
to repeat the same things frequently to children, but it is 
still more important that they should write them, in 
order to impress them thoroughly on the mind. Written 
exercises, whether performed at home or at school, are a 
most important part of education. In order that they 
may be really profitable, the following suggestions should 
be kept in view: 

1. Always to have the written exercise preceded by 
a precise and adequate explanation of the subject. 

2. To suit the exercises to the capacity of the pupils; 
and for this purpose, to have them neither too difficult 
nor too long. 

3. To vary them from day to day. 

4. As far as possible to select subjects which will be 
at the same time interesting, instructive, and educative. 

5. Whatever the given exercises may be, to insist that 
the pupils complete them, and pay attention to writing 
and speUing. * 

6. To look over and correct the exercises regularly. 
It would be well to make short and carefully written 
comments on them, or, as is more usual, to mark their 
per cent. 

7. To correct the home exercises daily; otherwise the 
pupils will derive no advantage from them, but will get 
into a careless way of working, and so contract bad 
habits. 

Correction of exercises. It is always possible for a 
teacher to look over the exercises to see how they are 
written and corrected, but it would be too much to expect 



76 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

him to correct them all himself daily; besides, the results 
would not repay him for the trouble. The collective 
method of correction will be found the most satisfactory. 
It is carried out orally, and by the use of the black-board. 
A child designated by the teacher rewrites the given 
exercise on the board; then by means of a series of 
questions, the mistakes are pointed out; and each of the 
other pupils corrects his own work according to what is 
written before him on the board. Collective correction 
is expeditious and educative. It may be applied to 
grammar and dictation exercises, as well as to arithmetic 
and composition. 

Reproduction of corrected exercises. Exercises need 
not always be rewritten; for instance, it is not necessary 
to have an exercise rewritten which has been well done 
by all the pupils. A clean copy, however, is useful in 
certain cases: it helps to form the handwriting of the 
child, accustoms him to order and neatness, draws his 
attention to corrections, and makes him reflect on dif- 
ficult points. Besides, in a class of several divisions, 
one division may be thus usefully employed while the 
teacher is giving a lesson to another. 

Questions. Examination questions are indispen- 
sable: (i) They give the teacher a knowledge of the daily 
work and progress of his pupils; (2) they give him an 
opportunity of correcting the pupils' false statements, 
and of observing defects in pronunciation; (3) they keep 
up a spirit of interest and emulation amongst the pupils. 
The following suggestions on the art of putting questions 
and eliciting answers will be useful to teachers: 

The teacher^ s questions, i. Each question should be 
clear, concise, definite, and suited to the capacity of the 
pupil. It sometimes happens that an inexperienced 
teacher, having asked a question in a form which he 
finds to be not sufficiently clear, puts it in a second and 
again in a third form. This indecisive manner tends to 
confuse pupils. 



GENERAL PROCESSES OF TEACHING. 77 

2. In asking a question the teacher should pronounce 
every word distinctly, emphasizing the word that ex- 
presses the principal idea. 

3. Questions should follow one another rapidly, so 
that the pupils may be kept on the alert. 

4. The teacher might sometimes follow the order of the 
desks in questioning the pupils; but to prevent inatten- 
tion, it is well occasionally to question those who are 
backward or seemingly inattentive. 

5. The teacher might sometimes put a question to the 
class generally, and wait a moment before indicating the 
pupil who is to answer it. 

6. A question should not always be put in the same 
words; it is advisable to vary the formula, so as to exer- 
cise not only the memory, but more especially the judg- 
ment of the pupils. 

7. As a rule, questions should be avoided which re- 
quire only yes or no for answer. Such questions do not 
sufl&ciently exercise the intellect. 

8. Questions should be given in the order in which the 
matter ought to be developed. It is better that they suc- 
ceed one another in logical order, if they relate to the 
same subject; but in recapitulations this rule may be de- 
viated from. 

9. Even under pretext of exercising the judgment of 
children, no question should be put that supposes the 
admission of a false principle or an erroneous proposi- 
tion. 

10. Experienced teachers ask questions at every les- 
son, on portions of the programme already taught; the 
previous lessons are thus better impressed on the chil- 
dren's minds. 

The answers of the pupils, i. Pupils should be 
trained not to answer hastily, but to reflect first on the 
question put to them. 

2. When answering, they should combine the ques- 
tion and answer by expressing all the terms of the propo- 
sition, or all the parts of the sentence. 

3. They should speak loud enough to be heard by all 



78 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

their companions, pronounce their words correctly and 
without precipitation, and articulate clearly. 

4. The teacher need not adhere strictly to one partic- 
ular form of answer; he ought to be satisfied if the answer 
given is accurate and precise. At the same time, in case 
of rules or definitions, he should be particular about the 
terms employed. 

5. Since it is by answering that children get practice 
in speaking, they must be given sufficient time to express 
themselves correctly. The teacher should be careful not 
to aid them too much, by giving part of the answer him- 
self, and thus leaving the pupils only the trouble of add- 
ing a few words at the end of the sentence. 

6. Pupils must not be allowed to answer without being 
questioned, or having obtained permission to answer. 

7. Pupils should be taught to speak correctly, avoid- 
ing provincialisms and vulgarisms. 

8. If the pupil questioned cannot answer, the teacher 
should ask another to do so, or give the answer himself.^ 

9. Backward pupils should be questioned oftener than 
others. They must repeat the answer as a whole, and 
not word by word; if they cannot do so, the answer ought 
to be subdivided into parts, each having definite meaning. 

10. Pupils must not be allowed to laugh at those who 
answer badly; besides being unbecoming, it disconcerts 
timid or bashful children. 

As many pupils as possible ought to be questioned at 
each lesson; if some are passed over at one lesson, they 
must be questioned at the next. But it may be useful 
to remark that it is not those who have not been ques- 
tioned during a lesson who profit least, if they have been 
attentive; memory plays an important part in the ac- 
quisition of knowledge and in the development of the 
faculties. 

Recapitulations. As a rule, the memory of children 
is prompt, but its power of retention is weak. Frequent 

1 The teacher's answers should be exact, short, complete, and easily 
understood. 



GENERAL PROCESSES OF TEACHING. 79 

and methodical recapitulations are needed to impress 
facts on their minds. These recapitulations might take 
place: (i) At the end of each month, or oftener if the age 
of the children demand them — all the subjects studied 
during that period should be reviewed; (2) after a series 
of lessons completing a certain portion of a subject, as 
catechism, history, geography, or arithmetic. By this 
means children get a general view of what they had pre- 
viously learned disconnectedly. When beginning a les- 
son it is necessary to ask some questions on the preced- 
ing lesson in order to show its connection with the pres- 
ent one. 

Examinations. In order to insure steady progress, it 
is necessary to have a weekly examination in the more 
important subjects, and a monthly one on everything 
studied by the pupils during the month. The weekly 
examinations are generally made by the teacher of the 
class; the monthly ones might be made by the principal of 
the school. The questions comprised in a test should not 
be so numerous that they cannot be answered in the pre- 
scribed time, nor so difficult that they can be attempted 
only by the most intelligent pupils. The questions 
ought to be so chosen: (i) That the greater number of 
the children may be able to answer some of them cor- 
rectly; (2) that they will require a sentence or two as an- 
swer, not merely a word or date. The heading of a par- 
agraph in the class-book should never be given as a 
question, as it would merely elicit a literal reproduction 
of the text. Care must be taken that the children do not 
copy from one another, or use books or notes surrepti- 
tiously. The precaution of placing them apart, or of 
placing rival competitors beside each other, might be 
adopted. 

Tests may be corrected in the following way: (i) In 
spelling, by counting the number of mistakes and de- 
ducting accordingly from the total of marks; (2) by giv- 
ing a certain number of marks for each subject; (3) in 
writing or drawing, by comparing the papers with one 



8o ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

another and allotting marks. The teacher ought to 
select the method best adapted to each subject. 

When a test is corrected, the results should be record- 
ed in a book. To save time the following system might 
be adopted: (i) The teacher announces to each pupil the 
number of marks and the place he has obtained; (2) who- 
ever has charge of entering the results calls out the 
names; each pupil gives his marks, the number of which 
is then written opposite his name in the record. 

As written and oral tests afford a more thorough knowl- 
edge of the proficiency of each pupil, the examinations 
should include both. If the pupils are very numerous 
they might be questioned somewhat as follows: the first 
pupil in each desk is questioned on catechism, the sec- 
ond on prayers and sacred history, the third on gram- 
mar, and so on; so that every pupil may be examined in 
at least one subject, and that the knowledge of every 
subject may be tested. At each examination the method 
of questioning may be varied. In examining memory 
lessons, instead of merely having them repeated, some 
questions might be asked to make sure that the children 
understand the subject-matter of what they have learned 
by heart. 

To lessen the labor which must necessarily accrue 
from an examination of this kind, and to save time, the 
examiner might write the questions on slips of paper, and 
distribute them at question time among the pupils. 
Each pupil then reads aloud the question which has 
fallen to him, and answers it. At the close of the exam- 
ination, the examiner points out the portions of the pro- 
gramme which it would be well to review before going 
further. In schools comprising several divisions, the 
subjects for the monthly examinations might be divided 
into two groups: one group being examined about the 
middle of the month, and the other toward the end. 

Oral examinations at the end of the year. During the 
two months which immediately precede the annual pub- 
lic examination, it would be useful to hold oral examina- 



THE ORAL LESSON. 8 1 

tions frequently. In some schools this is done in the 
following way: The principal makes out a programme 
of recapitulations for each week; and, on an appointed 
day, the pupils are questioned by the teachers of the dif- 
ferent classes. Thus the children become accustomed 
to answering, and the teachers secure great influence 
over them. 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE ORAL LESSON. 

I. — Preparation of the Lesson. 

The preparation of lessons may be general and remote, 
or special and immediate. 

The general and remote preparation. This prepara- 
tion does not consist in foreseeing long beforehand the 
most circumstantial details of a lesson, but by the teach- 
er preparing himself by assiduous study to fulfil his 
duties efficiently. It comprises: (i) The studies of the 
teacher during his training, which studies he should 
carry on afterward, to keep up and increase his knowl- 
edge; (2) the judicious choice of books for himself and 
his pupils; (3) the review of the week's work; (4) the at- 
tentive reading of pedagogical works, and in particular, 
the study of processes that have received the approval of 
competent men; (5) the exchange of ideas and views 
among teachers by means of pedagogical conferences; 
(6) the collecting of objects that constitute the apparatus 
of instruction: specimens for museum, botanical speci- 
mens, prints for collections, etc. 

Pedagogical conferences. A pedagogical conference 
is a debate among several teachers on questions of ed- 
ucation or instruction. Such a conference has many 



82 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

advantages: it gives the teachers an opportunity of ex- 
changing ideas on professional matters, such as the proc- 
esses and methods that succeed best; stimulates their 
ardor for the accomplishment of the duties of their office, 
which ardor, from the very monotony of the work, tends 
to diminish day by day; and it gives the president a 
chance of advising as he thinks proper. The good work- 
ing of the conference requires that it be directed by a 
man of intelligence, who will welcome all just and prac- 
tical views, and be sufficiently experienced to prevent 
straying into novelties of doubtful benefit. 

The conference generally comprises the reading of a 
paper on a subject proposed beforehand, followed by the 
discussion of this paper, and by a practical lesson. The 
secretary of the conference makes a brief note of the work 
done, the criticism of the lesson, and the leading points 
in the discussion. A pedagogical paper should be ar- 
ranged didactically, and have literary form and sim- 
plicity. Its chief merit ought to be accuracy of view 
and practical character of conclusions. After the read- 
ing, a courteous discussion begins; every one present is 
perfectly free to give his opinion, and to point out what 
he thinks particularly good in the work, as well as the 
points on which he does not agree with the author. The 
latter defends his opinion, if the arguments of his oppo- 
nents do not convince him. The president then sum- 
marizes the observations and gives his own judgment. 

Immediate preparation. An unprepared lesson is 
generally badly given. It has neither attraction for the 
teacher nor interest for the pupils. If the class be com- 
posed of several divisions, the disadvantages will be still 
greater. If everything is not foreseen — illustrations, 
questions, and the various exercises — the indecision of 
the teacher makes the pupils lose their time, and idleness 
soon begets disorder. Works entitled, Books for the 
Master, may help, but they do not dispense from prep- 
aration of lessons; the same may be said of educational 
journals, out of which suitable material might be chosen 



THE ORAL LESSON. 83 

and adapted by special preparation to the particular 
lesson to be given. ^ 

Nature of this preparation. The preparation of a 
lesson includes: preparation of the subject or pedagog- 
ical preparation, moral preparation, and preparation 
of materials for illustrations. 

The preparation of the subject means: (i) That the 
lesson is chosen according to the programme of the class, 
and the special part mapped out for the month's work; 
(2) that the length of the lesson is limited to suit the 
intelligence of the pupils, and the amount of time which 
can be given to it; (3) that it is carefully revised, so that 
all details may be accurate. Dictation should never be 
selected at random; the solution of a problem should be 
foreseen to prevent delay or want of clearness when cor- 
recting it; history and geography require immediate 
preparation, even by the best informed teachers — a 
sketch useful for explanation may have to be made be- 
forehand, or an historical fact must be read over, so that 
by adding to the interest of the instruction, some point 
may be made more clear to the minds of the pupils. 

Notes of this preparation ought to be entered in a 
special book for notes of lessons. The teacher must 
determine: (i) The aim of the lesson, and (2) the most 
suitable way of introducing it. By the aim, the thoughts 
of the pupils are to get a definite tendency, and their curi- 
osity is to be roused. The aim may be expressed: (i) 
In a sentence which simply sets forth the work of the 
lesson; (2) by a question to which the teacher expects 
no answer, but which gives a certain turn to the pupil's 
thoughts; (3) by a problem or an example containing the 
truth which the pupil is to learn during the lesson. To 
state the aim of a lesson properly requires great skill on 
the part of the teacher. 

Moral preparation is a sort of examination the teacher 
puts himself through on his own teaching in a given 

1 In preparing lessons the teacher might ask himself the questions: (i) 
What points shall I explain? (2) In what order shall I explain them? (3) In 
what words shall I express my meaning? 



84 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

specialty, on the difl&culty he finds in it, and the efforts 
he has made to overcome them, on the attention of the 
pupils, and the means of stimulating their intellectual 
activity during the lesson. 

The preparation of materials consists in getting ready 
any objects required for a lesson, lest through want of 
forethought the teacher be obliged to leave the class in 
order to procure them. Such objects would be maps, 
charts, pictures for reference, specimens for object les- 
sons, or models for drawings, etc. 

II.— The Lesson Proper. 

The great art of the teacher consists in giving lessons 
well, and this art is acquired principally by experience. 
It is not only a thorough knowledge of the subject which 
is required, but also a clear method of demonstration, 
frequent questioning, and clearness and correctness of 
expression. 

Methodical instruction. A teacher is methodical in 
his instruction: (i) If he follow a logical order in his 
lesson, whether leading by examples to a rule, or going 
from a rule to examples;^ (2) if he develop few points at 
a time, but explains them clearly and gives numerous 
exercises on them; (3) if he make sure after the expla- 
nation of one part that it has been understood; (4) if he 
turn every exercise to the greatest possible account, not 
only in reference to the subject taught at the time, but 
also with a view to others: for instance, in all written 
exercises to insist on good writing; in transcribing sum- 
maries, to attend to spelling, etc. With this object in 
view several different uses might be made of a reading 
lesson: explanation of subject-matter, speUing exercise, 
and even composition. 

Questions during the lesson. Whatever method be 

I The characteristics of a good division are: (i) That the division be based 
upon essential distinction of parts ; (2) that the members of the division 
exclude one another ; (3) that the parts of the division embrace the whole 
of the object divided. 



THE ORAL LESSON. 85 

employed, frequent questioning during a lesson is abso- 
lutely necessary. The maintenance of silence and good 
deportment in class are quite useless, if the teacher al- 
lows the pupils to become merely passive; if he does not 
arouse their mental activity, their attention quickly 
strays and their mind wanders, thus rendering the in- 
structions quite ineffective. Even though a lesson be 
not given by the inventive method, numerous questions 
should be asked to make the children, as it were, collab- 
orate with the teacher in the explanation of a subject. 
They might be asked the meaning of a word, the connec- 
tion of something with a remark that has already been 
made; they might even be sent for a while to the black- 
board. Thus the lesson becomes interesting, familiar, 
and lively. 

The teacher^s language. During the lesson the 
teacher's language should be correct, simple, clear, calm, 
without hurry or exaggerated slowness. The language 
is clear if the expressions used are suitable to the capac- 
ity of the children, and if everything new to them is ex- 
plained. Sometimes a teacher, though thinking he has 
only made use of terms quite familiar to the pupils, is 
not understood, owing to his making use of words whose 
meaning they are totally ignorant of. It will be well for 
him to imagine the pupils two years younger than they 
really are, and to adapt his language accordingly. If 
the teacher's intonation is dull and monotonous, the at- 
tention of the pupils easily wanders; on the other hand, 
a variety of tone and a certain animation increase very 
much their interest in the lesson. 

Lessons in the different divisions. A lesson generally 
consists of four parts: (i) A review of the subject of the 
preceding lesson, to connect the parts of the programme, 
and to fix them in the minds of the pupils: this review 
is made either by questions, or by the correction of an 
exercise in which the lesson has been applied; (2) the 
explanation of the lesson of the day according to the 
method and processes decided on as useful; (3) the in- 



86 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

dication of work to be studied by the pupils, either in 
their school-books or in a written summary; (4) the ex- 
planation of the task to be written, which should be an 
exercise bearing on the lesson. 

Introduction, conclusion, definitions, explanations. 

The lesson begins by an introduction spoken by the 
teacher, to excite the attention of his hearers. He should 
go straight to the subject without delay, and show that 
it is interesting and practical. The introduction to a 
lesson admits of various forms. It may be: (i) Simple 
— barely announcing the subject of the lesson, or writing 
it on the black-board; (2) recapitulatory — recalling by 
questions the facts which are necessary to understand 
the new lesson; (3) insinuative — gaining the attention of 
pupils by a pleasing aspect, and a promise of some agree- 
able discoveries; or (4) dramatic — appealing immedi- 
ately to, and captivating the intelligence. 

The conclusion summarizes the chief ideas and their 
consequences, by grouping them synthetically. If many 
lessons leave only a vague or fleeting impression, it is 
owing partly to an omission or bad presentation of the 
conclusion. 

Definitions and principles are to a lesson what founda- 
tions are to a building. But since definitions and prin- 
ciples are abstract formulas, pupils, and especially young 
pupils, must be led to them by concrete examples. The 
definition should be well understood; nothing should be 
left obscure in any term; and when possible, pupils ought 
to be encouraged to find the definitions themselves.' With 
beginners, the teacher must not think himself obliged 
to make them learn first of all the definitions of the 
science he is to teach, such as definitions of grammar, 
arithmetic, geography, etc. These are not necessary 

1 The characteristics of a good definition are: (i) It should not be merely 
negative ; (2) it should be short, clear, and precise ; (3) it should include 
neither the name of the thing defined nor any derivation of that name ; (4) 
it should apply to the object and to nothing but the object defined. It 
should therefore contain neither more nor less than that which explains 
the thing to be defined. 



THE ORAL LESSON. 87 

for the systematizing of the elementary notions ex- 
plained to the pupils; besides, after a few lessons the 
pupils will better grasp the synthetic formula which 
defines the science. The explanations should be simple 
in form and expression, exact, complete, without proKx 
details, and made lively by the animation and skill of 
the teacher. Comparisons and examples, having for 
object to make a difficult notion clearer, should have 
a natural connection with it, and be chosen from ideas 
that are familiar to the child, and neither ridiculous nor 
vulgar. 

Primary grades. In these grades especially, the les- 
sons should be varied and suited to the awakening and 
developing of the faculties, and preparing them for the 
acquisition of knowledge. The teacher must question 
constantly, and adopt the method which makes the in- 
struction most concrete. The lesson should be short, 
and derive its attractions from the nature of the different 
exercises which are introduced into it. Exercises written 
in class, except in arithmetic, will often be a copy of 
what has been put on the black-board during the lesson; 
but care should be taken to secure the attention of the 
pupils by introducing something new: getting them to 
underline words of two syllables, to place under each 
word a figure indicating the number of syllables or let- 
ters, to point out by a mark or an initial, the nouns, their 
gender, etc. 

Lower grammar grades. The teacher should aim at 
two results in his lessons: (i) To develop the intellectual 
faculties of the children by frequent questioning; (2) to 
elucidate the different parts of the programme by very 
simple explanations illustrated by numerous examples. 
Instead of going from the definition or the rule to the 
examples in which these abstract formulas are applied, 
the teacher should deduce the rule or the definition from 
examples. The written exercises ought to demand a 
greater amount of individual work than in the preceding 
division. 



88 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Upper grammar grades. While following in his les- 
sons the method already described, the teacher should 
familiarize his pupils with abstract ideas. With this 
object, the rule or definition after being thoroughly ex- 
plained, is often made the starting-point of the lesson, 
and the pupils are required to find illustrations of it. 

III. — Exercises and Study. 

Every lesson should be followed by an exercise in 
which the rules explained are applied, and this exercise 
may or may not be accompanied by study from a text- 
book. Sometimes the pupils will be expected to have a 
literal knowledge of the text, at other times they will be 
required merely to show a knowledge of the sense of it, 
in answering questions. 

Text-book. Purely oral teaching would be wearisome 
as well as monotonous, and it would be likely to leave 
only a fleeting impression on the memory of the pupils; 
it is, therefore, indispensable for them to use a text-book 
to deepen the impression, and to be a development or a 
summary of the lesson. The book is less impressive 
than earnest oral teaching, but it gives occasion for atten- 
tive study and recapitulation of lessons taught, and fur- 
nishes to the teacher a means of occupying one section of 
the class while he is explaining the lesson to another. 
The exclusive use of the book has many inconveniences. 
It does not make the ideas vivid enough, and is not fa- 
miliar enough for the child, who is easily disgusted with 
work. Besides, the certainty of always having a subject 
"ready," is an inducement to the teacher to shirk the 
trouble of carefully preparing the lesson. 

Setting lessons to be memorized without sufficient ex- 
planation is not the right way to use a text-book; by so 
doing a teacher is abusing the book and neglecting his 
duty. There are two general ways of using a text-book: 
(i) To read and comment on the text as a lesson; (2) to 
read the text after giving the lesson; this second way is 



EXERCISES OF MEMORY. 89 

to be preferred. If the pupils are very advanced, their 
attention need be directed only to certain difficult para- 
graphs of the book, and they should be left to find out, 
during study, the substance of the lesson given them. 
Some developments of the text-book may be replaced by 
concise notes, presenting the same subject in a different 
form; and additions may be made to chapters that seem 
incomplete or too succinct. The use of the text-book 
will vary according to the specialty. In reading, expla- 
nation of literary pieces, and translation of a foreign 
author, the text itself is the material for work. In cate- 
chism, the study of the text follows the oral explanation. 
In history, the text should be consulted only after the 
lesson. In arithmetic, at least with young children, ex- 
planation on the black-board is nearly everything; the 
more advanced pupils may consult different mathemati- 
cal works after the lesson has been explained. In gram- 
mar, beginners should be required to study definitions 
and rules only after having deduced them from examples. 
In geography, the book is not to be used till after the 
study of the map. And generally, every study of a text 
ought to be preceded by explanation and questioning, 
that the pupils may learn nothing but what they under- 
stand. The book is an indispensable help in teaching, 
but only a help. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

EXERCISES OF MEMORY. 

I,— General Considerations. 

Nature of memory exercises. Memory exercises are 
the studies prescribed for pupils after oral lessons and 
the explanation of the text. Sometimes these studies 
are literal or textual; and sometimes they merely consist 
of the ideas expressed and their connection. Pupils 
should learn word jor word the text of the prayers, the 



90 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

diocesan catechism, passages from the Gospels, and 
selected pieces which may be given as exercises in reci- 
tation. They should reproduce almost literally the rules 
and definitions in grammar, arithmetic, and geography, 
and also summaries of history, and object lessons. With 
regard to non-literal studies, it is sufficient for the chil- 
dren to reply correctly to the questions, giving the ideas 
developed in the manuals. Whether literal or not, the 
lessons learned should be the subject of regular repeti- 
tions and revisions, to fix them in the memory of the pu- 
pils. For the teacher, repetition means going over an 
explanation again without making any notable changes 
in it; for the pupil, it is a second study of the same sub- 
ject. Review is, in reality, a new lesson which the 
teacher gives on the same subject in a more concise form 
and with new ideas, by grouping into one lesson what 
had previously been the object of several. Repetition 
and review are called recapitulations; both are memory 
exercises, but review has for principal object to asso- 
ciate ideas with one another logically in the mind of the 
child. Children should not be required to memorize les- 
sons that are too long or too difficult. The length and 
difficulty might be gradually increased, without however 
going to excess. 

Importance of memory exercises. Although the most 
essential thing in teaching is to form the judgment of the 
pupils, considerable importance should at the same time 
be attached to memory lessons. With most children, 
memory is quickly developed, particularly when the ex- 
ercises are graded, varied, and interesting. The teacher 
ought to take advantage of this, but at the same time he 
must make the pupils memorize only what is really use- 
ful. He should try to excite a noble emulation for study 
among the pupils, and must avoid all threats, because 
while children are under the influence of fear their minds 
are not free, and study becomes very difficult and some- 
times almost impossible to them. Every means which 
experience may suggest ought to be employed to get the 



EXERCISES OF MEMORY. 9 1 

pupils to study their lessons regularly at home; the par- 
ents might be induced to interest themselves in this work, 
and be requested to get their children to recite the lessons 
daily before coming to school. 

II. — ^Textual or Literal Studies. 

Explanation of lessons to be studied literally. The 

teacher should never get the children to learn by heart 
what they do not understand; they would learn it with 
great difficulty, and forget it very quickly. It is indis- 
pensable that study be always preceded by an oral ex- 
planation. The children may then be made to read the 
text they have to study; it ought to be explained to them 
with all possible clearness; and a few questions might be 
put to make sure that they understand it. 

Method of studying the text literally. The teacher 
should tell the pupils that the best way to study a lesson 
is, not to read it again and again, from one end to the 
other, but rather to adopt the following method: (i) To 
read the whole text with great attention, two or three 
times, to grasp its general meaning and plan; (2) to 
memorize one or two lines, i.e., a proposition in which an 
idea is developed; (3) when these are well known, to 
learn others and to unite them to the previous lines; (4) 
when in this manner a whole sentence is retained, to re- 
peat it several times without looking at the book, and 
then go on to another sentence and study it in the same 
way. Children should not be permitted to study aloud 
in the class-rooms. Doubtless they would learn more 
quickly by articulating the words than by merely looking 
at them, but to preserve order they must be required to 
study without being heard. 

Literal study of lessons in the primary classes. When 
the children do not know how to read well enough to 
study by themselves, they may be taught by one of the 
following forms of the auditory method: (i) The pupils 
who are to learn the same prayer, poetry, answers in 



92 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

history or geography, are grouped together; the teacher 
or monitor recites a small portion, five or six words, for 
instance; all repeat together, two or three times, slowly 
and distinctly; when these are well known, a few more 
words are added, and the whole is repeated in the same 
manner; (2) instead of making all the pupils repeat im- 
mediately each fragment studied, some teachers first get 
the more intelligent children to say it, then all together, 
and finally the backward ones. 

Interrogations and recitations. Interrogations and 
recitations help to fix in the memory the text of the man- 
ual and the explanations of the teacher: a pupil knows 
only what he retains, and retains well only what he has 
understood and often repeated. Generally, the questions 
and recitations should take place during the class hours 
devoted to the special subjects; thus, a lesson in history 
will begin by the recitation of the summary of the pre- 
ceding lesson, and questioning on the facts developed. 
An exception, however, may be made in the case of the 
recitation of prayers, of the Gospel, and the catechism, 
especially in the primary classes. The questioning on 
these subjects should take place at the beginning of the 
morning exercises. 

The teacher should constantly insist that the recita- 
tion be intelligible and inteUigent; that is, that the pupils 
express themselves correctly, that they speak sufficiently 
slowly, that they articulate clearly and in a natural tone, 
and especially that they avoid repetition and stammering. 
It is better that children should have few lessons to study, 
and that they recite them well, than a great number, and 
contract the habit of defective pronunciation. In the 
primary classes, questions and recitations should be a 
collective lesson, that is, all the pupils should listen to and 
follow the recitation. This method has the advantage 
of keeping them occupied, and allowing the more intelli- 
gent to acquire some useful ideas from the explanations 
which accompany the recitation. 



EXERCISES OF MEMORY. 93 

ni.— Study of Selected Texts. 

The study of selected pieces should be added to the 
number of memory exercises given to pupils in all classes: 
for beginners, fables and simple poetry; for the more ad- 
vanced, extracts in prose or verse. If the pieces are 
chosen with discernment and are understood by the chil- 
dren who are to learn them, this study is very profitable. 
It enriches the vocabulary of the pupils, adorns their 
memory, suggests to them delicate and noble thoughts, 
and makes them retain sentences of the best construc- 
tion. The expressive diction which accompanies the 
recitation of these texts accustoms the child to speak 
with ease, grace, and correctness. 

With very young children the teacher will use the 
auditory method, as described above. But before the 
study, the text should be explained by means of a con- 
versation interspersed with short questions. In the 
other divisions he first reads the text, explaining the ideas 
and words; he then reads it with expression: divides the 
text, if need be, into several parts, and has them repeated 
by the pupils. 



PARr IV. 

THE TEACHING OF THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES 
OF THE PROGRAMME. 

The methods and procedures which have been ex- 
plained in Part III. apply to the different branches 
of the programme; but modifications are necessary for 
each branch of instruction, according to its object and 
difi&culties, and the class of pupils taught. 



CHAPTER I. 
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 
I. — Principles and Faculties. 

Faculties to be developed. There is no subject of the 
programme that so completely and efficaciously develops 
the powers of the soul as religious instruction. By the 
nature of the truths proposed, the intelligence is elevated, 
and all the secondary faculties connected with this 
general faculty of knowing are most beneficially exer- 
cised. The attention is more concentrated, inasmuch as 
the subject-matter of the study is metaphysical; and the 
pupil by means of abstraction and reflection rises from 
the region of matter to that of spirit. The imagination, 
already deeply impressed through the senses with the 
beauty of the ceremonies of divine worship, is trans- 
ported into the sphere of the ideal and contemplates the 
splendor of heaven, the horrors of hell, and in general the 

95 



96 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

grandeur of the truths so simply expressed in the cate- 
chism. Reason discovers the relationship and the ad- 
mirable economy of the dogmas, as well as the harmony 
between the natural and the supernatural world. The 
moral sense finds in the study of religion full and entire 
satisfaction which strengthens, ennobles, and purifies all 
its human sentiments by love toward our divine Lord 
and His most blessed Mother, pity and tender gratitude 
for the sufferings they bore for our salvation, hatred of 
sin, fear of eternal punishment, admiration of the divine 
perfections, ardent desire of heaven, etc. Conscience 
is enlightened and purified by frequent examination and 
the reception of the sacraments, and thus acquires an 
exquisite delicacy. The will, stimulated by the noblest 
motives, becomes accustomed to govern the passions; 
and strengthened by divine grace, it attains a power of 
action and resistance unknown to purely human wisdom. 
Lastly, the love and habitual practice of good develop 
a lively sentiment of moral beauty, which inspires the 
taste with a keen discernment of propriety, and which if 
united to intellectual culture gives incomparable deli- 
cacy and penetration in the appreciation of true beauty. 

Principles to be followed, (i) Religious instruction 
should have for foundation the principles of reason; (2) 
morals should be based on dogma and dogma on history; 
(3) the teacher should make his instructions practical by 
pious reflections, by relating incidents from church his- 
tory and the lives of the saints, and by suggesting prac- 
tices for a Christian life. 



II.— Division of the Programme. 

In Catholic schools religious instruction comprises: 
study of prayers, catechism, sacred history, and the Gos- 
pel. Simple details about liturgy and church history 
may be added. With the exception of the modifications 
necessitated by the special circumstances of some schools 
by diocesan statutes, and by the rules of some parishes 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 



97 



Lower 
Primary 
Grades 

(two years). 



concerning the First Communion, the programme may 
be arranged somewhat on the following lines: 

' Prayers. Explanation and study of the 
prayers: Our Father, Hail 
Mary, creed, Confiteor. 
Catechism. Elementary instructions on 
the principal truths: study 
of the principal questions 
of the short catechism of 
the diocese. 
Bible Stories from sacred history 

History. and from the life of our 

Lord. 

Prayers. Repetition of prayers learned 
in the preceding division. 
Acts of faith, hope, char- 
ity, and contrition. Grace 
before and after meals. 
Commandments of God 
and of the Church. 

Catechism. Explanation of the words and 
study of the text of the 
short catechism of the dio- 
cese. 

Sacred Narratives. Explanation of 

History. a primary text-book. 

Prayers. Morning and evening pray- 
ers. Pater, Ave, Credo, 
Confiteor, De Profundis, 
serving of Mass. 

Catechism. Explanation and study of the 
text of the catechism of 
the diocese. The lessons 
should be adapted as far as 
possible to the require- 
ments of the First Com- 
munion class. 



Upper 

Primary 

Grades 

(two years) , 



Lower 

Grammar 

Grades 

(two years) , 



98 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



Lower 

Grammar 

Grades 

(two years). 



Upper 

Grammar 

Grades 

(two years). 



Gospel. Narratives from the life of 

our Lord. Explanation 
and literal study of por- 
tions of the Gospels. 

Sacred Suitable text-book. 

I History. 

Prayers. Review of the prayers al- 

ready studied. 

Catechism. Review of the catechism of 
the diocese — Hteral study. 
More advanced explana- 
tions. 

Liturgy. Ceremonies of the Mass, the 

Sacraments, Blessings, etc. 

Sacred Review (dwelling on the 

History. Messianic prophecies). 

Important events in the 
history of the Church. 

Gospel. Literal explanation and study 

of the text of the Gospels of 
Sundays and feast days. 



III. — General Method of Conducting a Lesson in 
Christian Doctrine. 

The method of teaching catechism consists in ex- 
plaining the text by making use of the means best suited 
to the intellectual development of the pupils. The fol- 
lowing steps indicate the lines on which a lesson may 
proceed: 

1. Singing a few stanzas of a hymn. 

2. Prayer before catechism. 

3. A rapid review of the preceding lesson, the prin- 
cipal points of which are questioned on by the teacher. 

4. Explanation of each of the questions in the lesson 
of the day. 

5. At the end of the lesson, questions of recapitula- 
tion, practical counsels, and indication of the lesson to 
be studied. 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 99 

Explanation of the text of the catechism. The ex- 
planation of the text of the catechism is given: (i) By 
means of subquestions bearing on the words, the ideas, 
and the propositions of the text, by which the teacher 
satisfies himself that the text is understood; (2) by short 
explanations, on which the pupils are immediately ques- 
tioned. 

After getting the children to give an account of the 
subject of the preceding catechism lesson, the teacher 
formulates or has a pupil to read aloud the first question, 
as worded in the catechism of the diocese. The ques- 
tion having been proposed, a child is called on to answer 
it. He answers if he is able; if not, the teacher passes on 
to a second, and if he does not then get the answer, he 
gives it himself. To apply to a great number of pupils 
for a particular answer would be loss of time. 

Then begins an explanation of the catechism by sub- 
questions. The answer given forms the subject of the 
lesson. It may contain two, three, or four words the 
meaning of which the children either do not know or well 
understand: their literal meaning should be given, and, 
if needs be, the particular meaning they have in the an- 
swer. Comparisons may be made use of; the language, 
if the pupils be very young, should be simpHfied to suit 
their Hmited vocabularies. When the meaning of the 
words is understood, the next thing is to explain the 
meaning of the propositions, and the teacher may do this 
by questioning. When, by questions, he cannot lead the 
pupils to understand the meaning of the text, he explains 
it by a short instruction, or a clear and concise develop- 
ment. If these explanations are long, they should be 
divided up and questions asked on them, to ascertain 
whether they are understood. The teacher may address 
himself now to an intelHgent pupil, then to a backward 
one, according to the difficulty of the questions. 

He should then sum up the general instruction con- 
veyed in the answer thus analyzed, and afterward get 
the class to repeat the answer once, twice, or oftener, if 



lOO ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

necessary. In this way it becomes a formula which, 
with the explanation of the teacher, will remain fixed in 
the memories of the pupils. Without this repetition of 
the same answer, only vague, uncertain, and easily for- 
gotten knowledge would remain; while by frequently 
repeating the same formula, it becomes indelibly im- 
pressed on the memories. And later on when their 
judgment is developed the pupils will find in the text 
committed to memory much instruction which perhaps 
they had scarcely understood at an earlier age. 

Remarks relative to sub questions and developments. 

The subquestions or interrogations proposed for the 
purpose of explaining the words of the answers in the 
catechism, should be clear, simple, and suited to the un- 
derstanding of all the pupils. If the text of the answer 
to be explained is complex, that is, formed of several 
clauses united in the same sentence, these should be 
separated from one another before explaining them by 
subquestions. 

The developments by which the teacher explains what 
he cannot elicit by Socratic questions, must be short and 
contain only a few ideas; they should never consist in a 
flood of words, nor change the catechism into a sermon. 
The teacher ought to repeat and have repeated the texts 
from Holy Scripture, principally from the Gospel, which 
relate to the subject. 

Examples, counsels, recapitulations, and exhorta- 
tions. The examples related during the catechism to 
illustrate the truths explained have the great advantage 
of arousing and holding the attention of the children, 
and of making the teaching more effective. They may 
be taken from the lives of the saints, and particularly 
from the Holy Scripture. After narrating them the 
teacher ascertains by questions whether the pupils have 
understood their meaning, and the doctrine in illustra- 
tion of which they have been given. 

Counsels and practical reflections are not out of place 
during a catechism lesson, since it is necessary not only to 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. lOI 

explain the truths, but also to excite the children to the 
practice of Christian virtues. However, these counsels 
and reflections should alv^ays be fev^ and suited to the 
lives of the pupils. They may be given during the 
catechism, after an explanation which leads up to them 
naturally, or they may be left till the end, and given in the 
form of a short exhortation. In either case, it is well 
that the pupils be led to find out for themselves the prac- 
tical resolution to be made. 

The final recapitulations ought to bear on the prin- 
cipal explanations which have been given during the 
lesson. While teaching catechism, the teacher should 
speak in a grave and dignified manner of the truths of 
religion; and inspire his pupils with respect for the pres- 
ence of God, fear of His judgment, and lively gratitude 
and generous love toward our Lord: everything in his 
bearing must indicate his firm conviction of the truth of 
what he teaches. 

Study of the text of the catechism. The text of the 
catechism should never be studied without previous 
explanation. If a lesson consists of a chapter which has 
never been studied by the pupils, the explanation of the 
words and ideas should precede the study; if the lesson 
has already been explained, the new study, which is in 
fact only a review, may then precede the class lesson 
at which the text will be developed more completely than 
it had hitherto been. The recitation should be textual, 
i.e., the answers of the catechism should be reproduced 
word for word. 

III. — Remarks Concerning the Different Divisions. 

Catechism in the preparatory division. With very 
young children the object of the lesson is the explana- 
tion and study of some very elementary answers of the 
short catechism. For this purpose, two methods are 
employed — the narrative and the pictorial. 

The catechism by narratives. The teacher begins by 



I02 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

telling a Bible story, or some edifying tale relating to one 
or more questions which he wishes to impress on the 
minds of the children. After this simple narrative, he 
may teach the text of the catechism. 

1. If the children know how to read, the answer may 
be written on the black-board and read aloud very dis- 
tinctly, first individually, then simultaneously. All the 
important words should be underlined, and the children 
made to find out their meaning, or the teacher gives it by 
means of examples and comparisons. To have this an- 
swer studied, it may be read through a certain number 
of times, until it is remembered; or after having read it 
several times, parts of the words may be erased and some 
words reduced to their initials, and the whole sentence 
reproduced from memory. The different parts of an 
answer may be separated by vertical lines: For what end 
did God make us? — God made us to know \ love \ and serve 
Him here on earth \ and thus attain heaven. 

2. If the children do not know how to read, the audi- 
tory method must be employed. The teacher pro- 
nounces slowly and distinctly the question and answer 
which he wishes to have learned. He explains carefully 
the important words; and has the text repeated indi- 
vidually at first, then simultaneously, until it is known. 
The two or three questions of which the lesson consists 
are similarly taught and learned, and a few questions are 
asked on the meanings of the words explained before the 
study. Even when the children know how to read, they 
might be taught in this way by simple audition and with- 
out using the black-board. 

Catechism by explanation of pictures. A mural pict- 
ure of large dimensions being placed before the children, 
the teacher draws their attention to it, asks them to ex- 
plain it, and questions them on the personages, places, 
and events represented: this is the analysis of the picture. 
Afterward he may tell the narrative of the scene which 
is depicted, and explain the text of the catechism which 
refers to it. The text is then learned according to one of 
the methods explained above. 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. I03 

Catechism in the primary division. The questions 
and answers of the short diocesan catechism should be 
explained and learned by heart. Sometimes one of the 
methods indicated for the preparatory class is adopted, 
and sometimes the ordinary method of explanation is 
followed, taking care to introduce each lesson by some 
interesting story to captivate the attention of all. Every 
means of facilitating the study should be employed; such 
as the division of the answers into their elements, ex- 
planation of words and propositions, use of simple terms 
and familiar comparisons, repetition of explanations by 
several pupils, etc. When the questions and answers 
forming the subject of the lesson have been explained in 
this way, they should be read again in the book. 

Catechism preparatory for First Communion. The 

programme of catechism for First Communion comprises 
all the diocesan catechism, and a recapitulation of the 
principal mysteries and the practical truths of reHgion. 
The children should know exactly the letter of the 
catechism, and remember at least the more important 
of the explanations which have been given. The teacher 
should unite doctrinal explanation and edifying narra- 
tives, but he must especially question the children and 
make them speak as much as possible. When a lesson 
has been explained, it is read again in the catechism, 
and some simple remarks are added to show the con- 
nection of the questions with one another. 

Catechism after First Communion. The programme 
comprises: (i) A review of the diocesan catechism accom- 
panied by questions on the text and the explanations 
given in the preceding classes; (2) fuller explanations 
of the text; (3) recapitulations of principal mysteries 
and practical truths. The lesson may be given on the 
lines already indicated. It is indispensable that the 
pupils of this division should grasp the connection be- 
tween the questions constituting each chapter, and that 
of the chapters among themselves. After reviewing the 
preceding catechism lesson, care should be taken to 



I04 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

show, when possible, the relation which the subject about 
to be treated bears to what has already been studied. 

V. — Counsels to CatechistSo 

Preparation of catechism. If it is important that 
other lessons should be preceded by an immediate prep- 
aration, it is still more urgent with regard to religious 
instruction, the object of which is so vast and sublime. 
Hence, however great may be his accomplishments 
otherwise, a prudent teacher will never give a catechism 
lesson without especial and sufficient preparation. A 
hasty preparation might cause him to give incomplete or 
erroneous instruction, or to adopt a method unsuited to 
the abilities of the children. 

To prepare for catechism, the teacher should: (i) De- 
cide upon the subject to be explained and developed; 
(2) make sure that he fully understands the meaning of 
all the words employed in the questions and in the an- 
swers; (3) formulate subquestions calculated to make 
the pupils understand the propositions enunciated and 
the terms employed; (4) introduce developments sug- 
gested by the subject; (5) find comparisons to make the 
pupils understand difficult portions; (6) make a prac- 
tical application of the subject. 

The teacher would do well to take notes of the com- 
parisons or explanations he might have met with in pre- 
paring his catechism, the important minor questions, 
and the reflections; place these notes in his book, and 
use them during the lesson. This is an excellent means 
of insuring method, of preventing ail wandering from 
the subject, and of supplying for momentary lapse of 
memory. 

Defects to be avoided in teaching catechism. The 

following defects should be avoided in catechetical in- 
struction: 

I. Explaining a subject which has been insufficiently 
prepared, and thus exposing one's self to teach erroneous 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. I05 

doctrine, to make numerous repetitions, or to give ex- 
planations wanting in clearness. 

2. Treating a subject which has not been sufficiently 
defined, or instead of reducing it to its proper propor- 
tions, expanding it by long explanations. 

3. Not bringing one's self within the reach of the pu- 
pils; making use of abstract or scientific language, instead 
of simple, intelligible, and concrete expressions, especial- 
ly with young children. 

4. Devoting too much time to discoursing and not 
enough to questioning. 

5. Asking more than three pupils for an answer which 
the first called on cannot give; having the same answer 
repeated by too many pupils, thus making the lesson 
wearisome. 

6. Being satisfied with an answer which is nearly cor- 
rect, instead of exacting precision. 

7. Sacrificing instruction to pious exhortation; the latter 
may be introduced only incidentally, and led up to by the 
instruction. 

8. Falling into the opposite defect, that is, addressing 
one's self continually to the intelligence of the children, 
and too seldom to their hearts. 

9. Speaking in a careless, indolent tone, which would 
indicate want of conviction or earnestness. 

10. Making assertions concerning a subject about 
which one is not sufficiently informed. 

11. In dogmatic and moral instruction, not distin- 
guishing clearly between what is of faith and what is of 
pious belief, what is of precept and what is merely of 
counsel. 

12. Deciding on matters which are beyond the prov- 
ince of the teacher; for instance, to say ''such a sin is 
mortal, such venial," instead of being satisfied with 
telling the pupils that "such an act is a sin, a serious 
fault." 

13. Dwelling on indiscreet or petty details; making 
use of trivial comparisons; quoting examples having 
neither interest nor authenticity, and no other result. 



Io6 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

than that of amusing the children for a moment with- 
out any benefit to their reHgious knowledge. 

14. Being too familiar or too severe; reprimanding 
and inflicting punishments, even though they be just, 
when they may be postponed without inconvenience. 

15. Certain children, who, though dull, are atten- 
tive, should not be disheartened either by scarcely ever 
asking them a question, or by punishing them when they 
answer only fairly. 

16. Allowing children to raise objections or discuss 
points of doctrine. If a pupil does not understand a 
word, he may, of course, ask for explanation. 

17. Omitting the recapitulation at the end of the 
catechism. 

18. Under pretext of preparing for an examination, 
transforming the catechism into a mere exercise of text- 
ual study. 

VI.— The Obligation to Make Pupils Love Religion 
Through the Catechism. The Way to do It. 

It is not enough for a teacher to instruct children in 
their religious duties and to explain the strict obligation 
of performing these duties. That they may perform 
them willingly, both at school and afterward, he must 
make them feel that God and the Christian religion are 
worthy, above all things, to captivate the heart of man. 
With this object the teacher ought to attend to the fol- 
lowing recommendations: 

1. In explaining dogma, tell pupils that the manifes- 
tations of God to the patriarchs and prophets, the mira- 
cles of our Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly that of 
the Resurrection, are historical events better established 
than those which are admitted without difficulty in pro- 
fane history. 

2. In speaking of God, have Him adored and feared 
as the Judge from whom nothing is hidden, and who will 
render to every one according to his work; but also 
have Him loved as the Benefactor who has put His 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. I07 

power at the service of man, for whom He multiplies acts 
of incomprehensible goodness. Often recall the won- 
derful testimonies our Lord has given of His mercy and 
charity, and make the pupils reflect on the benefits which 
He unceasingly bestows on each man in particular. 

3. Look upon the divine law as a guarantee of happi- 
ness to individuals, families, and nations, since it tends 
to destroy passions and vices, from which all troubles, 
disorders, and crimes spring. 

4. Often speak of the beauty of virtue, the charm of 
innocence; remind the pupils that the proper effect of 
religion is not to make those who practise it sad or un- 
sociable, but, on the contrary, to increase joy of con- 
science, and lead them to devote themselves to the ser- 
vice of their neighbor with affectionate cordiality. 

5. Accustom pupils to associate in their minds the 
idea of duty accompHshed and true happiness, of accept- 
ed sacrifice and great joy. 

6. Look on the sacraments as inestimable benefits, 
since by communicating divine grace, they raise us to 
an eminent dignity. 

7. Explain to the more advanced pupils how the 
dogmas of religion — Providence, immortaUty of the soul, 
future rewards — and the Sacraments of Penance and the 
Eucharist, satisfy the highest aspirations of the human 
soul. 

8. In catechetical instructions, in instructions in sa- 
cred and profane history, show clearly the social benefits 
conferred by the Catholic Church. 

9. Avoid constraint, inconsiderate zeal, narrowness of 
judgment and of conduct, in the pious practices which 
one wishes the pupils to adopt. 

10. Establish and hold in honor, the Society of the 
Children of Mary, the Apostleship of Prayer, and other 
pious associations which help to make their members 
understand the happiness of serving God, and practising 
the works of the Christian apostolate. 

11. Explain the incomparable beauty of the liturgical 
prayers and offices. 



I08 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

12. Show by his own conduct how rehgion makes 
those who serve God lovable and self-sacrificing. 

VII. — Prayers. 

The pupils should know by heart the prayers which 
are said in class. When questioned on these formulas, 
they must repeat them in a natural tone, with good pro- 
nunciation, and becoming slowness. The meaning of 
the words composing the prayers should be explained 
in order that they may be said with intelligence. The 
children ought also to understand the spiritual meaning 
of these prayers, that is, the sentiments and petitions 
which they contain, so that they may pray with the heart 
as well as with the Hps. A Latin prayer should not be 
studied unless the pupils have first read a translation of 
it in their own tongue. 

To teach the children how to say the Rosary, one or 
two decades might be recited aloud by two children al- 
ternately, beginning with the versicle, ''Incline unto my 
aid, O God," etc., followed by the Creed. At the proper 
age the children should be taught to meditate on the mys- 
teries of the Rosary. 

Study of prayers in the primary classes. When pupils 
do not know how to read sufficiently well to study by 
themselves, the prayers might be taught to them by 
either of the following methods: 

1. After a short and simple instruction on the prayer, 
the teacher pronounces clearly the words of a sentence; 
he has them repeated after him, first by some of the 
advanced pupils, then by all together, and finally by the 
backward ones. He continues thus, adding a new part 
to what has already been studied, till the whole prayer is 
well known. Then he explains it again to make it better 
understood. 

2. A prayer may be said in its entirety by one pupil, 
while all the others who are to learn it pronounce in a 
low tone what he says aloud. Then the words of the 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. lOQ 

prayer should be repeated first by a group, and then by 
all the children. 

VIII.— Sacred History and the Gospel. 

Sacred history. For very young children sacred his- 
tory should be limited to a narrative of the most strik- 
ing facts. 

If the teacher has a collection of mural engravings 
illustrating the events of sacred history, he may use 
them very advantageously in fixing the wandering atten- 
tion of children. The lesson then comprises: (i) A 
series of questions on what the child can discover by 
observation of the persons, actions, and places which are 
represented in the picture; ^ (2) an explanation of the 
subject represented; (3) the repetition of this by some of 
the children, at first in answer to questions, and then as 
a continuous narrative; (4) the deduction of some moral 
reflections which the subject may suggest, and which 
should be practical for the young pupils. 

If mural engravings are not to be had, and the pupils 
do not know how to read, they may learn the narrative 
by listening to it. The narrative might be divided into 
several parts, each of which should be repeated by some 
pupils; then the more intelHgent may be asked to repeat 
the entire story. 

When the pupils have a manual of sacred history, the 
lesson may be given as in profane history. A map of 
Palestine should be used, and the pictures of the manual 
explained. 

Gospel. The Gospel scenes may be taught to young 
children, either in the form of narratives which the 
teacher has them to repeat, or by means of engravings 
representing Gospel scenes. The explanation of en- 
gravings should precede the narratives, and in this case 
the teacher may proceed on the lines indicated above for 
the teaching of sacred history. 

1 Before these questions, which constitute a direct analysis of the pict- 
ure, some teachers would ask two or three pupils to tell what they see; 
this is a kind of jree analysis, incomplete but spontaneous. 



no ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

The Gospel of Sunday should never be given as a 
memory lesson without having been previously explained. 
This may be done in the following manner: (i) Con- 
nect the Gospel incident with the life of our Saviour; 
(2) relate the incident, adding some details, which may 
make it more intelKgible and more interesting; (3) bring 
out prominently the characters of those figuring in the 
scenes, especially that of our Lord; (4) bring out very 
clearly the doctrinal truths and the practical instruc- 
tions deducible from the narrative. In the recitation 
of the Gospel the text should be reproduced word for 
word and the pupils should be questioned on the expla- 
nations. 

IX.— Special Developments. 

SIGN OF THE CROSS (for pupils of seven to eight 
years of age) . 

Question. By what sign is a Christian known? 

Answer. A Christian is known by the sign of the 
Cross, which is an abridgment of the truths contained in 
the Apostles' Creed. 

Suhquestions. How is a soldier known? A sailor? 
An officer? The members of certain societies? What 
then is a sign? What is the first sign of religion that 
your mother taught you to make? 

Q. What does the word sign mean here? 

A. The word sign here signifies a mark which distin- 
guishes those who are Christians. 

Q. What is the sign of a Christian? What is a 
Christian? Who is the Chief, the teacher of Christians? 
Whose disciples are Christians? 

Q. What does the sign of the Cross recall to our 
minds? 

A. It recalls to our minds that Jesus Christ died 
for us. 

Q. What does the word recall mean? 

A. The word recall means to make us remember. 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. Ill 

Q. What kind of death did Jesus Christ suffer for us? 
A. Jesus Christ suffered for us death on the Cross. 

Exposition. It is by dying on a cross for us that Jesus 
Christ redeemed us. Now He could not give a greater 
mark of His love, for as He has said, there is no greater 
proof of love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. 
It is also by dying that He merited infinite graces for 
His Church — that is, the Society of the Faithful who be- 
lieve in Him. 

Q. If a man exposed himself to death to save you 
from grave danger, would you often think of that bene- 
factor? What then is the duty of Christians with regard 
to Jesus Christ? 

Reflection. It is quite just that the disciples of Christ 
should often remember the infinite goodness of Him who 
redeemed them, and the punishment He was pleased to 
suffer for them; it is for this reason that the first Chris- 
tians very often made the sign of the Cross, and chose it 
as a distinctive mark, in order to recognize one another 
among the pagans. 

Q. Why did the Christians choose as a distinctive 
mark the sign of the Cross? 

A. Because this sign reminds us of the death of Jesus 
Christ. 

Q. How does the sign of the Cross remind us of the 
death of Jesus Christ? 

Q. Why choose a sign which recalls the death of 
our Lord? 

A. Because it is by dying on a Cross that our Lord 
has saved us, and given us the greatest proof of His love. 

Q. Give another reason. 

A. Because the sign of the Cross is an abridgment of 
the truths contained in the Apostles' Creed. 

Q. What truths does the sign of the Cross recall to 
mind? 

A. The sign of the Cross recalls to our minds the 
mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the mystery of the Incar- 
nation, and the mystery of the Redemption. 



112 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Text of the catechism. Q. How does the sign of 
the Cross remind us of the mystery of the Blessed Trin- 
ity? 

A. The sign of the Cross reminds us of the mystery 
of the Blessed Trinity, because in making it we invoke 
the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, 

Subqiiesiions. Name the three Persons that we invoke. 
A. The three Persons of the Blessed Trinity that we» 
invoke are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
Q. Who are these three Persons? 
A. They are the three divine Persons. 

Explanation. The expression: In the name of the 
Father, etc., is an excellent prayer which means: "I 
beseech God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy 
Ghost to bless me: May it be so." It has also another 
sense. When you have said to your father, "Father, I 
am going to obey and to work, in order to please you," 
you apply yourself as well as possible. So, when you 
make the sign of the Cross before prayer or work, that 
means: "I am going to pray, to work for God: for the 
Father, whose child I am; for Jesus Christ, His Son, 
whose brother I am; for the Holy Ghost, who dwells in 
my soul." If we thought of that, could we pray badly, 
work badly, since it is /or God, in the name of God, and as 
children of God, that we act? 

The teacher interrogates on this explanation and con- 
tinues the development. 

LESSON ON CONTRITION (to pupils of nine 
to ten years). 

Text of the catechism. Q. What is contrition? 

Contrition is a sorrow and detestation for sins com- 
mitted, with a firm purpose not to commit them again. 

The teacher relates or gets the pupils to relate, the 
conversion of the prodigal or that of St. Peter, which 
they may have already heard, or which they m.ay have 
read in the Bible history: by means of questions he gets 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. II3 

them to see in the conduct of those illustrious models, 
sorrow for having offended God, hatred for sin, and a 
firm purpose to avoid the occasions of committing it. 

Q. What does the word contrition mean? What is 
broken in the sinner who repents? 

Exposition. The word contrition means breaking, 
the action of breaking. This name is given to repent- 
ance for sin, because if repentance is sincere: (i) It 
breaks the will which had revolted against the orders of 
God, instead of humbly submitting to them; (2) it breaks 
the bonds that held it captive to passion and bad habits. 

Q. To what is the will of the sinner attached? What 
does sincere contrition do to deliver the sinner from the 
slavery of sin? Prove it by the example of the prodigal; 
by the example of St. Peter. What bonds will he have 
to break who frequents bad company? How can it be 
said that he who habitually commits sin is a kind of slave ? 
Is he then no longer free? How can the chains of this 
slave be broken ? 

Exposition. Contrition produces in the soul a hatred 
for sin. It makes us regard sin as a detestable act, which 
we must avoid at any cost; as a stain that sullies the soul 
in the eyes of God; as a disease more hideous for the soul 
than the diseases that prey upon the body. 

Q. What does the word detestation mean? What 
feeling does contrition produce in the soul with regard to 
sin? Why must we hate sin? To what extent does sin 
deserve to be hated? What resolution does contrition 
prompt us to take if it is sincere? What is a resolution? 
What do the words, good purpose, firm purpose, mean ? 

Exposition. For this purpose we must avoid the oc- 
casions into which we have fallen; otherwise we would 
repeat the same faults, according to this text of Holy 
Scripture: ''He who loves the danger shall perish there- 
in." Then our souls would be in a still more deplorable 
state than that from which they had been drawn; this is 
the teaching of Jesus Christ: "Sin no more, lest some- 
thing worse happen to you." 



114 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Q. Why should sincere repentance for having com- 
mitted a fault cause us to avoid the occasions of falling 
into it again? What do you mean by an occasion of 
sin? How are you to know what has been for you an 
occasion of sin? In what words does Holy Scripture 
condemn those who expose themselves to fall into sin? 
Why shall he who exposes himself to the occasions of sin 
fall into it? etc. 

Reflection. It cannot be said that he really detests 
sin who returns to the occasions of committing it, nor 
that he reflects on the evils that follow from it. 

Q. What were the consequences of sin for the first 
man? For his descendants? What did Our Saviour 
suffer to expiate our sins? What is the first cause of the 
sufferings of men on earth? Prove it. What is the 
cause of the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory, and in 
Hell? Prove it. What evils does sin bring upon us? 
Should we be firmly resolved to avoid it? What should 
we do with regard to our defects? Why? What then 
is the true sign that we detest our sins? Is it necessary 
to shed tears when we excite ourselves to contrition? etc. 

Text. Q. What qualities should contrition have? 

A. Contrition should be interior, supernatural, uni- 
versal, and sovereign. 

What do you mean by interior Contrition? (To ex- 
plain the first condition the teacher interrogates the 
children; then he adds some explanations, quotes a text 
of Holy Scripture, and proposes subquestions on this 
development.) 

DIVISION AND EXPLANATION OF COMPLEX 
ANSWERS. 

If the answer is complex, that is, formed of different 
members, the pupils should be led to recognize the parts, 
as in the following example: 

Q. What were the effects of the disobedience of our 
first parents? 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. II5 

A. In punishment of their disobedience, Adam and 
Eve were driven out of the terrestrial Paradise, and con- 
demned to eat their bread in the sweat of their brow; 
they became subject to ignorance, concupiscence, suffer- 
ings, and death; and were excluded from the happiness 
of Heaven. 

The teacher decomposes the answer into six parts by 
means of questions which do not require the whole an- 
swer. If the pupil interrogated unites several effects of 
original sin, the teacher stops him that he may distin- 
guish them from one another. 

I. With young pupils, the distinction of the parts of 
the answer should precede all subquestions. They may 
have the book open before them, and be questioned as 
follows : 

Q. What was the first effect of original sin? 

A. The first effect of original sin was that God drove 
Adam and Eve from the terrestrial Paradise. 

Q. What was the second effect of original sin? 

A. The second effect of original sin was that God 
condemned Adam and Eve to eat their bread in the 
sweat of their brow. 

Q. What was the third effect? etc. 

The teacher afterward proposes various subquestions, 
in order to explain each of these effects. 

II. With more advanced pupils, the teacher may place 
the subquestions after each of the parts of the answer: 

Q. What was the first effect of original sin? What 
was the terrestrial Paradise? Why is it called a place of 
delights? Where does tradition place it? Has human- 
ity preserved the remembrance of this abode of happi- 
ness? 

Q. What was the second effect of original sin? (Sub- 
questions as above.) 

III. With the most advanced pupils, the teacher might 
state that though original sin did not destroy in man 
what essentially constitutes his nature — intelligence, lib- 



Il6 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

erty, and other faculties and powers — it wounded them. 
It annihilated the gratuitous gifts which God had super- 
added : ^zz/jer/za/z^m/ gi//5 — sanctifying grace, the theo- 
logical virtues, the infused moral virtues, the gifts of 
the Holy Ghost, and the power of meriting the Beatific 
Vision. Extranatural gifts — science, dominion of the 
will over the appetites, incorruptibility and immortality 
of the body. The teacher may develop the answer ac- 
cording to this division. 

It is advisable, in teaching catechism to the higher 
grades, to write on the black-board at the beginning 
of the lesson a summary of the subject-matter, in the 
form of a synoptical outline.^ 

After the development of each heading, questions are 
asked; and explanations and exhortations are given 
when necessary, as in the foregoing specimens. 

LESSON ON PURGATORY (for higher grades). 

Existence proved. By Scripture, the teaching of the 
Church, the tradition of the Fathers, and reason. 

Pains of the souls. Pain of loss, pain of sense. 

Motives for helping the souls. A duty of religion, of 
justice or gratitude, of charity, of personal interest. 

Means of helping the souls. Prayer, fasting, almsdeeds, 
indulgences, holy sacrifice of the Mass, Communion. 

Questions on first heading. What is Purgatory? How 
do we know of its existence? Cite the words of the Old 
Testament; the words of our Lord; the words of St. 
Paul. What does the Church teach about Purgatory? 
What is the practice of the Church? Has the Church 
always prayed for the departed? Give the words of St. 
Gregory of Nyssa. How does reason prove the existence 
of Purgatory? etc. 

1 The making of such an outline might occasionally be prescribed as 
home work for the higher grades. 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. II 7 

CATECHISM BY EXPLANATION OF WALL 
ENGRAVINGS (for little children). 

It is advantageous to make use of mural engravings 
with children, principally to give them some ideas on the 
mysteries. 

Catechism on the Blessed Trinity. To impart some 
idea of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the teacher 
might make use of an engraving representing the Bap- 
Hsm of Our Lord, When the children have made the 
sign of the Cross, and recited the Hail Mary, they may be 
asked to give their whole attention to the catechism, in 
order to please Jesus. 

Interrogation on persons, places, and actions. The 

teacher places the picture so that all the pupils may see 
it easily. After having given them a few moments to 
examine it in silence, he questions them on the per- 
sons, places, and actions, somewhat in the following 
manner: 

Q. What personages do you see at the top of the 
picture? 

A. Angels. 

Q. How do you know that they are angels? 

A. Because they have wings. 

Q. Where have you already seen angels? 

A. In the Church, on pictures, on tombs in the 
cemetery. 

The teacher. In pictures and statues, angels are rep- 
resented with wings, to indicate the rapidity with which 
they go wherever God sends them. 

Q. What should a child do when his parents tell him 
to do something? What do you think of him to whom 
the same order has to be repeated several times before 
he obeys? How can you resemble the angels by obe- 
dience? 

Q. Are there only angels at the top of the picture? 

A. There is also an old person. 



Il8 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Q. Is it a man? 

A. No; a man cannot keep himself in the sky. 

Q. But, then, what is it? 

A. It represents Almighty God. 

The teacher. Yes, it is God the Father; He is repre- 
sented as a venerable old man. 

Q. Where does He look? 

A. Toward the lower part of the picture. 

Q. Whom does He look at? 

A. Some one who has gone into the water. 

Q. What do you see above this person? 

A. There is a dove surrounded by rays. 

Q. Have you already seen anywhere a similar dove 
surrounded by rays? 

A. Yes; there is one on the arch of the church. 

The teacher. That dove represents the Holy Ghost, 
who now appears under this form; and the person above 
whom it flutters is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God the Father. 

Q. Are there not other persons also on the engraving? 

A. On the right, there is a man holding a cross in his 
hand, and pouring water on the head of Jesus Christ; 
on the left are angels looking on. 

The teacher. Very good. Observe that in this pict- 
ure all are occupied with our Lord, who is the princi- 
pal person. This picture represents the baptism of 
Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist. 

Q. What more do you see at the foot of the picture? 

A. Mountains and a river. 

The teacher. That mountainous country is called 
Judea, of which Jerusalem was the capital; that river is 
the Jordan. 

Q. In what country was our Lord baptized? On 
the banks of what river was He baptized? 

The teacher afterward explains the scene of the bap- 
tism of our Lord, the dialogue between St. John and 
Jesus Christ, the words uttered in Heaven by God the 



RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. II9 

Father, the apparition of the Holy Ghost in the form of 
a dove; and especially he puts in a clear light the teach- 
ing in view of which he has made use of the engraving, 
namely, that there are three divine Persons, and that 
they have intervened in the baptism of Jesus Christ. 
He simply states afterward that these three persons are 
one and the same God, and that they constitute the Most 
Holy Trinity (this expression should be explained). 

Oral reproduction. By means of questions the teacher 
gets the pupils to reproduce the narrative, to indicate on 
the engraving the personages and incidents; afterward 
he might ask some of the most intelligent pupils to relate 
the whole scene thus studied. 

Final reflection and practical resolution. The teacher 
tells the children why our Lord was pleased to be bap- 
tized, although He had no fault to wash away, being 
infinite holiness. But at their birth men's souls are 
sullied by original sin; Christians are purified from this 
stain by Baptism: they ought not, therefore, to commit 
sin which would again sully the purity of their souls. 
God has received them as His children, and the Holy 
Ghost has descended on them in an invisible but real 
manner. The teacher should suggest to the pupils the 
resolution to avoid grieving God by disobeying Him, 
and that of making slowly and piously the sign of the 
Cross, by which we invoke the three Persons of the most 
Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 

CATECHISM IN THE FORM OF STORIES 

(for young children). 

To vary the form of the lessons, the teacher often pro- 
ceeds by relating Bible stories, from which are drawn 
instructions and practical consequences. This is the 
historical method, of which Fenelon said: "One must be 
very ignorant of religion not to see that it is quite histor- 
ical. . . . God, who knows the mind of man, has 
ordained the use of common and ordinary things for 



I20 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

divine service. We also see that instruction was for- 
merly given by means of stories full of natural coloring 
and animation. These stories are not only suitable to 
stir up the curiosity of children, but by discovering to 
them the origin of religion, they lay the foundations of it 
in their minds." 

Catechism on the duties of children toward their par- 
ents. To give children seven or eight years old an idea 
of their duties toward their parents the teacher may re- 
late the history of the Finding of the Child Jesus in the 
Temple, and draw fitting applications therefrom. He di- 
vides the lesson into several parts, after each of which he 
questions; then he gets the pupils to repeat what he has 
just related. 

I. The preparations for the journey, and the journey. 

II. The Holy Family assisting in the Temple at the 
solemnities of the Pasch. 

III. The Child Jesus found by His parents among the 
doctors. (Be particularly careful to make the pupils 
observe that, by remaining in the Temple, the divine 
Child did not disobey His parents.) 

IV. The Child Jesus at Nazareth: His life of sub- 
mission, prayer, and labor. 

V. Application to the hfe of the pupil. 

The teacher should enter into familiar details, making 
use of comparisons borrowed from the lives of children, 
and interesting them by very simple explanations on 
some of the customs of the Jews in those journeys to 
Jerusalem; he might speak especially of the interior 
disposition of the Infant Jesus, of the perfection with 
which He prayed, obeyed, worked, and how He may be 
imitated. The teacher can easily deduce from this 
narration the formula of the diocesan catechism which 
contains the duties of children toward their parents: 
Children should love, respect, obey, and assist their par- 
ents in their wants. He then gets them to repeat this 
formula until it is thoroughly known. ^ 

1 The first seven articles of the Creed may be explained in the form of 
narrative. 



READING. 121 

CHAPTER II. 

READING. 

The teaching of reading comprises two stages: (i) 
Elementary reading, or teaching children to read words; 
(2) fluent reading, which, according to the class, will 
comprise mechanical reading, explanation, and expres- 
sive reading. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Reading requires the at- 
tention of the mind and of the eye to distinguish the dif- 
ferent words; it exercises the hearing in distinguishing 
intonations, inflections, cadences, sound, etc.; it forms 
the organs of speech by the emission of these sounds; dis- 
ciplines the intellect by the exercise of thought, and de- 
velops the moral sensibility. 

Principles to be followed, (i) From pedagogical con- 
siderations the teaching of reading, writing, and spelling 
should be carried on simultaneously; (2) lessons in read- 
ing and writing should be preceded by simple exercises 
to familiarize the children with the meaning of such 
terms as: sound, letter, syllable, chalk, black-board, slate, 
etc.; (3) the procedure should be slow and methodical; 
little but well, from the simple to the difficult — such laws 
must be exactly followed; the letters of the alphabet 
should be taught in groups determined by analogy of 
forms, and difficulty of sounds. 

II. — Methods of Teaching Elementary Reading. 

Reading is necessarily the basis of all instruction; for 
a child can hardly be put seriously to study until he is 
able to read fluently. Hence it is important that when 
a child enters school, he should start at once at the 



122 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



rudiments of reading. The progress of the pupil will 
depend, not only on his own intelligence and the peda- 
gogical ability of the teacher, but also on the method em- 
ployed. Methods of teaching reading have greatly in- 
creased in number since the eighteenth century. They 
may be grouped in two categories: the analytic and the 
synthetic. 

The analytic methods have been completely aban- 
doned in many schools. They consisted in going, 
regressively, from the sentence to words, then to sylla- 
bles, and finally to letters. In carrying out these meth- 
ods the children first learned by heart a group of sen- 
tences. At the lesson, they recited several times, and 
slowly, the text memorized, while the teacher pointed 
out on the chart each word and each syllable. They 
were afterward exercised in finding out the same words 
and syllables in other charts, and finally their attention 
was directed to the letters. 

The synthetic methods consist in progressing from 
letters to syllables, from syllables to words, and thence 
to sentences. They consist of two groups: the alpha- 
betic methods (spelling), and the syllabic methods (with- 
out spelling). 

These methods may be grouped as follows: 



'Analytic: 



Methods 

of 
Reading 



Synthetic 



Look and say" or word method. 

Alphabetic: the old 
way of isolating the 
letters in spelling 
is disappearing. 

Alphabetic: new way 
— open vowels and 
articulations. 



With 
Spelling 



Without 
SpelHng 



Syllabic: reading of 
syllables. 

Phonic: syllabica- 
tion is preceded by 
articulation and 
vocal analysis. 



READING. 123 

Look and say method. The words look and say indicate 
the leading feature of the method. When the pupil meets 
a word which he is unable to pronounce, he is told to look 
at it carefully while the teacher sounds it clearly; then 
still attending to the word, he imitates the sound given 
until he can reproduce it perfectly. The meaning of the 
word is given either verbally or pictorially; and finally 
the child is led to see the parts which compose the word, 
syllables, and letters. This method is simple, direct, 
and natural; it associates sound, sign, and idea in a ra- 
tional way. It is the best way of teaching irregular 
English monosyllables. 

Alphabetic method. In this method the simplest ele- 
ments of each syllable of every word are first learned, 
then the syllables are united and the word is read. But 
what are the simplest elements of a syllable? The advo- 
cates of the old and the new ways of carrying out this 
method differ on this point. The first maintain that the 
elements are the individual letters, and that they should 
be pronounced separately. But this is a mistake, since 
in reading, the letters are not pronounced according to 
their names, and some letters have several pronuncia- 
tions. In should, for instance, neither the 5 nor the h, 
the nor the u is pronounced separately, but the articu- 
lation sh and the sound ou. Again, the names of the let- 
ters rarely suggest the sound of the word; e.g., double- 
you-a-jee, wag. This form of the alphabetic method is 
losing ground rapidly. 

The new form is replacing the old one everywhere. It 
distinguishes two elements in a syllable consisting of 
several letters : the pure sound represented by one or 
more letters (a, o, au, ay, etc.), and the articulation 
formed by one or more consonants (t, tr, str; b, br; c, ch, 
cl, etc.). It adopts the following rule: ^^Any combina- 
tion of letters which affects the ear as a distinct elementary 
sound remains inseparable, and must he read without de- 
composing it.-' 

According to the old spelhng and naming, brimstone 



124 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

was read — bee-ar-eye-em-brim, ess-tee-o-en-ee-stone: 
brimstone. According to the new application of this 
method, brimstone is read: br-im, brim, st-one, stone: 
brimsto7te. 

Syllabic method. This method considers the syllables 
as inseparable wholes which the ear perceives synthet- 
ically, as a single sound: my, see, crow. Having chosen 
a vowel, for instance, and a consonant /, the teacher 
has the syllable lo read, without decomposing it. From 
easy syllables he proceeds to monosyllabic phrases, and 
even to little narratives; afterward syllables consisting 
of several letters may be taught: strength, horse, helm; 
and syllables containing silent letters: comb, though, 
doubt. 

There are several ways of applying this method. Take 
the word abnegation as an example. The child is sup- 
posed to know the simple syllables which he has already 
studied, and should say immediately: ab-ne-ga-tion 
(shun). If he hesitates or delays too long over the sec- 
ond syllable, for instance, the teacher directs him thus: 

What is the sound of this second vowel? Pupil: e. 

To what letter is it attached? Pupil: to n. 

Say it. Pupil: ne. 

Now read the word. Etc. 

Phonic method. This is really a modification of the 
syllabic method. Before reading syllables, an attempt 
is made to sound consonants without the aid of a vowel. 
The pupils are exercised in prolonging the sonorous ar- 
ticulations (r, s, f, v), or in disposing the vocal organs for 
the pronunciation of mute consonants (b, p, q, t), until 
they know how to join them to vowels. The phonic 
method is rational in so far as it gives distinct sounds to 
consonants only with the aid of vowels, and prepares for 
the emission of sounds by a normal disposition of the 
vocal organs. 

The combined method. This method is formed by 
contributions from the other methods. Anything that is 



READING. 125 

good in them is brought into it: the word method forms 
the foundation; the spelling of the Alphabetic, the word 
building of the Phonic, and the syllabic treatment of the 
Phonetic methods are used. The Phonomimic methods 
are sometimes employed. Suppose the words bal, hat, 
mat, and cat are to be taught: 

1. The teacher draws illustrations of a bat, a hat, etc., 
on the black-board; and questions the pupils on them. 

2. The word which names each thing represented is 
printed beside it, pronounced by the teacher, and after- 
ward by the pupils, simultaneously and individually. 

3. The children may be exercised in pointing out the 
word which is the name of each diagram: Point out the 
picture of a mat; the word bat, etc. 

4. Several words are printed on the black-board, 
among them being the words hat, bat, etc., and the pupils 
are asked which are hat, etc., and which are not hat. 

5. Each pupil now builds up these words from the box 
of letters before him, and afterward writes them, if able 
to do so. As a preparation for this last exercise, the 
teacher prints the letters of the word hat apart from one 
another, and again prints them close together. By this 
analysis the children see the parts of the words. Other 
words are taught in the same manner: they are then 
formed into a sentence, which the children read and re- 
peat.^ 

III.— The Reading Lesson in the Preparatory Class. 

Means of maintaining the attention of pupils. Teach- 
ing httle children to read is a task full of difficulties. A 
good method will help to minimize these difficulties, but 
by itself it will not insure success. The power of con- 

1 For the lower classes a card containing characters large enough to be 
read by the whole class should be so fixed on the wall that the Master 
can, by means of a pointer, and without leaving his place, point out the 
letters, syllables, or words. There should likewise be cards, either port- 
able or fixed, in different corners of the class-room, so as to occupy, under 
the direction of monitors, those sections to whicti the Master is not actu- 
ally giving a lesson. 



126 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

centration is extremely weak with children, and the first 
lessons in reading are inevitably monotonous. The 
teacher should by every legitimate means, but especially 
by his interesting manner, strive to captivate and main- 
tain the attention of his pupils, if he wishes them to make 
progress. 

1. When the teacher gives a lesson or makes the chil- 
dren read from the black-board, he should indicate the 
letters, syllables, and words with a pointer. When the 
pupils have primers, they might point with the finger to 
the words which one of them reads aloud. If a child is 
inattentive, the teacher should make him name the letters 
just taught. 

2. When the teacher notices that the class is becom- 
ing careless and tired, he should vary the lesson by a 
written or memory exercise, or even introduce some 
recreative device bearing on the lesson. For instance, 
if the pupils be not too numerous, he might distribute 
among them small pieces of paper, each bearing a let- 
ter of the alphabet clearly written. The teacher names 
a letter, and the pupils having the strips containing it 
place them on the table in a row; then a second row is 
similarly formed. Little by little the syllables and words 
studied in the lesson of the day are formed. 

The finished copy-books of all the classes might be 
usefully employed for the following exercise. Each pu- 
pil receives a leaf, and he marks each letter according 
as it is named: the a's, for instance, are marked by a ver- 
tical line, the 6's by a horizontal line, etc. The teacher 
should show on the black-board how the exercise is to be 
performed. These and similar exercises must be em- 
ployed for several days, concurrently with writing exer- 
cises which are to replace them. 

Writing exercises and dictation. It is considered 
advantageous not only to teach the children the printed 
and script letters simultaneously, but also to accustom 
them to write on their paper. After a few preparatory 
exercises, the children soon acquire the ability to repro- 



READING. 127 

duce the letters and even the words taught. Doubtless 
the first attempts will be very imperfect; but with short 
explanations on the black-board, the teacher soon obtains 
eatisfactory results. Some first reading books contain 
models of writing after each chapter. 

Dictation is an exercise which always interests chil- 
dren and is a useful change during reading lessons. In 
the beginning only a short time should be devoted to it; 
three or four letters would be sufficient for the first at- 
tempts. The teacher names a letter which the pupils 
have previously studied, o, for instance; they write it, 
and at a sign from the teacher, turn their paper toward 
him. He glances at each, gives a few words of encour- 
agement when deserved, awards marks, and calls out a 
second letter. Later on, the teacher might dictate syl- 
lables and words. In this way the children are initiated 
into orthography. 

All these processes have the same end: to interest 
the children, to sustain their attention, and to impress 
on their minds the lesson of the day. As the exercises 
demand the undivided attention of the learners, they 
promote discipline, and allow the teacher to give his 
attention and care to the different sections of the class 
alternately. 

Manner of conducting an elementary reading lesson. 

Whatever method be adopted the sequence of exercises 
may be as follows: 

1. Study of the exercises on the black-board. 

2. Study of the same exercises in the tablet or book. 

3. Exercises in writing, etc. 

4. Continuation of the reading, syllabication, and 
word-building. 

5. Writing and dictation — as explained above.* 

1 Instead of first showing the children a letter or word, and exercising 
them in pronouncing it correctly, many teachers consider it more logical 
to pronounce a vowel or whole word, or to articulate a consonant them- 
selves, and to make the pupils repeat this vocal element. Not until the 
correct pronunciation of the sound is obtained is the graphic representa- 
:ion shown. 

The plan of the lesson by the phonic method may be as follows: 



128 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

First lesson on the black-board. By a word or sign the 
teacher calls the class to attention. He then points out a 
letter, which he has written and printed on the board, 
and makes the children notice its form. He pronounces 
the letter, showing the vocal organs utilized in the effort. 
After a few short and simple explanations, he repeats 
two or three times the same letter and then makes the 
pupils pronounce it simultaneously. He treats each 
letter in the same manner. 

The letters, written on the board, should be large, the 
better to strike the child's eye; the mind will thus become 
concentrated on the special object of the lesson. For 
this reason the use of the black-board is much recom- 
mended. 

Suggestions regarding reading in elementary classes. 

I. It is very important that pupils should never pass on 
to a new lesson until the previous ones are thoroughly 
known. There should be a rapid review each day of 
the lessons previously studied: such review is necessary 
for backward pupils, and very advantageous for the 
others. 

2. Simultaneous reading is of a certain utility in in- 
fusing life into a class; but much time should not be de- 
voted to it, as it is generally of little value, and leads the 
pupils to read in a monotonous, distracted manner. It 
is sometimes employed in a big class; but if it is to pro- 
duce satisfactory results, the syllables must be sharply 
and simultaneously enunciated, and the teacher should 
exact a clear and distinct pronunciation of them, without 
allowing the exercise to be transformed into screaming or 
singing. 

1. One or two questions are put to the pupils in order to lead them to 
pronounce a word containing the new sound. 

2. This word is divided into syllables, if necessary; and the syllable 
containing the new sound is decomposed also. 

3. Pronunciation of the new sound by the teacher, then by the pupils. 

4. The teacher writes the letter on the board, and tells the pupils to 
observe its form. 

5. The pupils write the letter. 

6. The letter is combined with characters already studied; and the 
syllables and words are read from the black-board and the tablets. 



READING. 129 

3. While giving suitable care to the action of the vocal 
organs that concur in the proper pronunciation of each 
syllable, the teacher should correct any indistinctness or 
faulty pronunciation which he may remark; for this pur- 
pose he may even accentuate the faults. 

4. Once the children are able to read the words on the 
tablets, they should give their meanings, and by degrees, 
aided by the teacher's questions, form simple phrases 
with these words. 

5. There should be few sections in a reading class, 
so as to avoid as much as possible having recourse to 
monitors. In the primary classes, the pupils, at the be- 
ginning of the year, could be divided into one or two 
groups, and toward the end into two or three. The first 
might comprise the children who can read fluently; the 
second, those not so advanced in the exercise; and the 
third those who are not able to keep up with the others, 
or who are but a short time at school. The teacher will 
often be able to unite the last two sections. The back- 
ward pupils could work at the first lessons, and those who 
have made more progress might go on to the following 
lessons. 

6. Having regard to the many difficulties which a child 
experiences during the first stages of learning to read, 
it is advisable to secure the assistance of parents in this 
task. In large classes it is particularly difficult for a 
teacher to devote sufficient attention to all the pupils. 
As each child has a primer containing the same exer- 
cises as are in the tablet, it is a good plan to prepare in 
class a few exercises on the tablet, and to promise a re- 
ward to those who, after careful study at home, will read 
these exercises accurately the next day in school. If 
the teacher by this means arouses emulation among the 
children, they will of their own accord, ask their parents 
to help them; with such aid the pupils will make rapid 
progress. 

7. In view of the correction of dictations, the pupils 
should practise spelling aloud, giving the alphabetic 
names to the letters, but not until they can read fluently: 



130 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

a few simultaneous lessons at the black-board would suf- 
fice for this spelling. 

Primers and reading charts. The primer is a great 
aid in teaching reading. It reproduces and completes 
the lessons of the chart, and insensibly leads the children 
to read fluently. In the beginning the children should 
not be given books in ordinary size print. Very large 
characters are easier to read, and should be used for 
some time. The books selected to be read concurrently 
with the grade reader should be attractive and inter- 
esting, well printed and freely illustrated. When the 
pupil passes from the primer to the higher standards, 
the teacher should redouble his efforts to accustom him 
to follow the reading. 

When dealing with chart exercises, there must be 
sufficient time spent at each before passing on to the 
following; for the mechanical difficulties of reading are 
presented in such an order in these exercises that they 
are dependent on one another; and hence to pass on to a 
new lesson without knowing thoroughly the preceding 
ones would complicate the work and retard the prog- 
ress. But when pupils can read fluently, it is better 
not to repeat the same passage oftener than twice or three 
times during the same lesson; otherwise the pupils get to 
know it in such a way that one word recalls another, and 
consequently the readers pay but scant attention to their 
books. 

Children who begin exercises in fluent reading are 
liable to forget the difficulties in pronunciation and artic- 
ulation. Distinct articulation is the result of careful 
training. Children imitate easily. The shape of the 
mouth and the position of the vocal organs should be 
shown for the pronunciation of certain words occurring 
in the lesson. Exercises in vocalization should form 
part of all the reading lessons in the lower divisions. 
Words and sentences containing the letters r, s, t, d, dr, 
th, sh, ing, should be frequently practised. 



READING. 13 1 

IV. — Reading Lessons in the Primary and Lower 
Grammar Grades. 

In the primary grades the greater part of the lesson 
should be devoted to the reading proper, in order to over- 
come as far as possible the mechanical difficulties. In 
the lower grammar great attention must be given to the 
material (words) reading of the lesson, but some time 
should be devoted to explanations. 

The word reading. In primary classes it is useful to 
begin a reading lesson by an exercise on the black-board. 
The teacher writes a few words whose pronunciation 
presents special difficulty; these he explains and divides 
into syllables, and the pupils pronounce them several 
times. 

The following is another preparatory exercise which 
may be employed from time to time. One or more sen- 
tences of the text to be read having been written before- 
hand on the board, the teacher indicates the pauses to be 
made, the words to be emphasized, etc. He underlines 
certain words, explains them, and questions the pupils 
on the idea conveyed by the sentence, which he first 
reads himself and then gets them to repeat. 

It is important that the teacher should begin by read- 
ing slowly, or having some of the best pupils read, the 
passage to be dealt with at the lesson. This pattern 
reading is more beneficial to the majority of the class 
than numerous observations. Then the teacher should 
get the pupils to read, sometimes in the order of the 
desks, sometimes in no definite order; this will keep up 
the attention of the class. 

The teacher ought to insist on the following points: 

1. That the pupils avoid precipitation, and pronounce 
all the syllables distinctly without repeating them. 

2. That they read loud enough to be heard by all who 
follow the lesson. 

3. That they avoid a singing tone; and read fluently, 
naturally, and, as far as possible, in their usual speaking 
voice. 



132 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

4. That they observe the punctuation. 

5. That they hold their books at a distance of about 
fourteen inches from the eyes. 

To secure these results the teacher should give the 
children a great deal of practice. During the lesson he 
must keep a very careful watch over the pupils so as to 
preserve order and silence; he ought also to have the 
lesson-book in hand, and correct every mistake made 
by the reader. 

Explanation of the matter read. As soon as children 
begin to read fluently, mechanical reading should be 
accompanied with explanations. There is no exercise 
more indispensable in the teaching of the mother-tongue 
than the explanation of reading lessons and selected 
extracts. By this explanation the teacher enters into 
direct communication with his pupils; he makes them 
speak, corrects their errors, and enriches their memory 
by the addition of new ideas; he trains their reason, their 
judgment, and forms their taste; he awakens and then 
develops in them a need of clear and correct views; he 
shows them how to instruct themselves by reflections and 
personal investigations. It is preeminently the active 
lesson of which it has been said, "a teacher able to ex- 
plain reading lessons and poems holds his class in his 
hand." This assertion, though exaggerated, contains a 
truth which experienced teachers admit; without jre- 
qiient and well-prepared explanations of reading lessons 
and poems, there is no serious teaching of the vernacular. 
But it should be remembered that the chief object of 
a reading lesson in these two divisions, is the actual 
reading itself. The explanations, though indispensable, 
are of secondary importance; they should not interrupt 
nor break up the reading, w^hether mechanical or expres- 
sive, but be given, some before and others after. 

Primary classes. In these grades the questions asked 
should be very simple, and given merely for the sake of 
exercising the intelligence of the pupils. The following 
is the general method of procedure: 



READING. 133 

1. Model reading by the teacher (of the text of the 
lesson, about fifteen Hnes developing a certain subject). 
This reading should be done slowly, with good articula- 
tion, exact pronunciation, and proper intonation. The 
various sentiments, the emphatic words, the pauses, and 
the modulations must be brought out. Pattern reading 
by the teacher is very important. Good reading being 
an art, children perfect themselves in it by models. 

2. Short explanation of the passage. It consists in 
getting pupils to find out the subject of the lesson. They 
are questioned on the characters, their words and actions, 
on the places, the views, and the objects described, in 
order to ascertain whether they understand what they 
are going to read.* 

3. Reading by the pupils, simultaneously, afterward 
individually. The passage is read sentence by sentence 
or paragraph by paragraph. This exercise should take 
up the greatest portion of the lesson. 

If the children read too quickly or without harmony, 
the master might guide them by his voice, and if neces- 
sary by a tap of the pencil or signal on the table. If they 
read with a singing tone, he should stop them and make 
them take a natural tone. If, in simultaneous reading, 
a sentence has been badly read, one of the best readers 
might be called on to read it. In individual reading the 
teacher should stop the child who has made a mistake, in 
order to correct the word or words which he mispro- 
nounced. If he repeats the mistakes a companion may be 
asked to correct him. If two or three pupils fail to read 
the passage correctly, the teacher himself should read it. 

4. Exercise in the pronunciation and articulation of 
certain difficult words. 

1 The following is a useful exercise for the primary classes of reading. 
The teacher questions thus: "Read the words that tell the name of the 
person in that sentence; the words that tell his age; . . . that tell whether 
he obeyed his mother. Read the passage that describes the lion's appear- 
ance; the sentence that tells how the hunter escaped," etc. This kind of 
questioning will be effective in bringing out the meaning of the passage, 
and opening the pupils' minds. 



134 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

5. Language training exercises. Socratic questions 
on the meaning of a few words. These words should 
then be put into a sentence by the child. The lesson 
might end by an oral summary given by two or three 
pupils. The teacher should indicate the moral idea 
which naturally arises out of the lesson. 

Specimen explanation of a text. On a very warm summer 
day, Willie went into the country. He walked so fast that he became 
very hot and thirsty. Suddenly he came to a spring, gushing like a 
silver stream from a rock under the shade of an oak. He rushed to 
the water. It was as cold as ice. But hardly had he begun to drink, 
when he almost lost consciousness. He went home sick and feverish. 
"Ah! " he sighed, " I would never have believed that a clear spring 
could make me feel so bad!" His father answered: "It is not the 
spring which is the cause of your sickness, for its water is pure and 
wholesome; it is your imprudence and haste in satisfying your thirst." 

The following questions may be put on this text: 

The general idea. What is spoken of in this lesson? 
What did Willie do? 

The secondary ideas. Where was Willie? How did 
he feel after walking? How did he satisfy his thirst? 
Wherein was he imprudent? What was the result of his 
imprudence, etc.? 

Explanation of words. Spring, shade, oak, gushing, 
consciousness, limpid water, thread of silver, the water 
was pure and wholesome. 

Questions on spelling and grammar. Indication of 
the qualifying adjectives of the first six lines, and the 
word which each of them qualifies; if the pupils know 
only nouns, they should be made to indicate those con- 
tained in such and such a paragraph. The book being 
closed, a few words are spelled. 

To save time and avoid rote questioning, the teacher 
should mark upon the margin of his class-book or on a 
separate slip of paper, the principal and secondary ideas 
in each paragraph of the reading lesson. The words to 
be explained might be underlined. 



READING. 135 

Practical lesson. The class should be made to dis- 
cover the hygienic prescription: "Do not drink cold 
water when you are perspiring." 

The explanation may be followed by a written exer- 
cise in grammar or spelling. 

Lower grammar grades. The teaching of reading in 
the lower grammar grades should have for object: 

1. To train the pupils to read fluently and without 
hesitation, and to bring out the principal sentiments by 
expression. 

2. To enrich their vocabulary. 

3. To extend their knowledge by precise and varied 
explanations. 

The following is the mode of procedure: 

Preparation. For a few minutes the pupils read in 
silence the text of the lesson. They mark the words 
which they do not understand, in order to ask an expla- 
nation. Finally, as far as they have been taught, they 
take note of the important words, in order to emphasize 
them. 

1. Pattern reading by the teacher, afterward by the 
best readers. 

2. Explanation, (a) Research of the general idea, "Of 
what does this lesson treat?" (b) Short examination of 
the secondary ideas, by questions following each other in 
a logical order, prepared by the teacher before the lesson. 
(c) Explanation of the words marked by the pupils, and 
those pointed out by the teacher. 

3. Reading of the text by the pupils. If words or 
phrases be badly read, the teacher should have them 
repeated by the same or by other pupils until they can 
be gone through without a mistake. 

4. Expressive reading 



5. Oral summary by the pupils who are capable of this 
work — paragraph by paragraph at first, and then of the 



136 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

whole text. The teacher should deduce the moral les- 
son contained in the text. 

Reading books have, as a rule, some chapters devoted 
to religious subjects; teachers might make use of these 
for the moral training of the children. Without altering 
the exercise or transforming it into a lesson in religious 
instruction, a teacher can, by an appropriate remark or 
allusion, instil Christian ideas and pious thoughts into 
young hearts. The books also contain some interesting 
chapters on natural science, industries, recent inventions 
and discoveries, historical facts, etc., all of which would 
be, if properly treated, subjects for instructive lessons. 

V. — Reading in the Higher Grammar Grades. 

In this division the chief object of reading is to culti- 
vate the intelligence of the pupils, and to enrich their 
minds with useful information. The time and explana- 
tion which this demands should not prevent great atten- 
tion being given to the reading itself. 

The actual reading. It will take much time, trouble, 
and exercise before pupils acquire the ability to read 
in the proper tone of voice; to banish all precipitation, 
which leads to repetitions, stammering, and senseless 
reading; to mark the rhetorical pauses; to vary the in- 
tonations and inflections according to the sentiments — 
that is, to read with expression. 

The principal aim of the lesson is the reading itself. 
But since the pupils can read fluently, the attention of 
the teacher should bear especially on three points: the 
correction of the mispronunciations, the rapidity of the 
reading, and expression. The pupils must acquire the 
habit of reading mentally several words in advance, 
and of pronouncing distinctly and quickly. To develop 
this habit, pupils might receive, individually and collec- 
tively, progressive exercises in speed. These exercises 
constitute a sort of impulse to read quickly, without in- 
juring the purity and distinctness of articulation. In 



READING. 137 

this division expressive reading and mechanical reading 
should not be treated separately, as in the lower gram- 
mar grades. The pupils must from the start give a suit- 
able tone to their reading. The teacher should not rest 
satisfied with directing them generally on the method of 
employing the modulations in harmony with the ideas 
and sentiments, but explain the principal rules of the art 
of reading. 

Method of conducting the lesson. Preparation. The 

teacher having indicated on the evening before, the text 
of the lesson for the following day, the pupils might be 
told to mark the words they want to have explained, and 
to find out the way of expressing the sentiments con- 
tained in it. On his part the teacher should study the 
lesson, and prepare a plan of the subject, the ideas, and 
the words, and mark the pauses and intonations required 
for expressive reading. This preparation on the part of 
the teacher is indispensable. 

I. Expressive reading by the teacher and then by the 
best readers. The teacher might praise and criticise as 
he considers proper, and then have badly read passages 
gone through again. The important thing is not to have 
many pages read during the lesson, but to have a few 
very well read.- At each stanza or at each phrase, ac- 
cording to the nature of the text, the teacher explains 
why he took such an intonation or varied the inflection, 
accented some words, made such a pause, quickened or 
slackened the rate, swelled or diminished the volume of 
voice. He shows how to render exclamations, interro- 
gations, irony, and doubt; how to modulate the voice in 
order to connect properly the different parts of a sen- 
tence — incidental phrases and inversions.^ 

1 The teacher should consult special works on expressive reading and 
elocution, where he will find these points fully explained. 

Reading Latin. In the upper grammar grades, the pupils who know 
how to read English sufficiently well may be taught to read Latin. The 
teacher should give them hints on the method of pronouncing the litur- 
gical Latin, and direct them to attend to the pauses indicated by the 
punctuation signs. 



138 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

2. Individual reading by as many pupils as possible. 
The teacher should attend to the proper accenting of 
words, to the emphasis required, and to the important 
propositions, as well as to the speed suitable for the piece. 

3. Short explanation of the text by the pupils. By 
means of Socratic questions the teacher might direct 
them in finding out the general and the secondary ideas. 
The words marked by the pupils should be explained if 
possible by their companions. The teacher might ex- 
plain other words if he judges it necessary; and then ask 
a few questions on spelling, the grammatical function of 
such and such a proposition, the etymology of a word, 
etc. 

4. Oral summary, correct expression, and the logical 
order of ideas should be insisted on, and the moral lesson 
deduced. 

After the pattern reading the teacher may conduct 
the explanation in the following order: 

{Characters and place of the scene. 
Words and actions. 
Conclusion. 

2. Questions on the ideas. Principal and secondary. 

3. Historical and grammatical explanations if re- 
quired. 

4. Literary explanations. Questions on characteristic 
words and expressions. 

5. Observations on the particular style of the author. 

6. Deduction of the moral idea of the passage. 

It is strongly recommended that the pupils of the 
higher grammar grades be made to prepare a written, 



WRITING. 



139 



analytical summary of certain lessons. This may be 
done in the following way: 



Name of lesson 

Leading idea 

Principal Ideas. 



I. 



2. 



2. 

f: 



Secondary Ideas. 



3- 



f: 



Conclusion. 



This exercise may be written on the left-hand page of 
the exercise book; the right should be reserved for the 
corrections made by the pupil during the class criticism. 



14© ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER III. 

WRITING. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Like drawing, writing calls 
into play and trains the sense of sight and skill of fingers 
as well as the attention, the imagination, the reasoning, 
and the (esthetic sense. 

Principles to be followed, (i) From the beginning 
great attention should be paid to the position of the body, 
and of the copy, and to the method of holding the pen. 
(2) The teaching of writing should be (a) intelligent and 
rational: exercises to be easy, slowly progressive, and 
based on recognized principles; {h) practical: conducing 
to a rapid, legible style; (c) an aid to aesthetics, by de- 
veloping the pupil's sense of the beautiful: good writing 
must have unity, variety, order, symmetry, proportion, 
and harmony. (3) The writing should be thoroughly 
corrected. 

II. — Directions for Teaching Writing. 

The end to be attained and general means. The chief 
object of exercises in writing is to make the pupils ac- 
quire gradually a legible, bold, and graceful style of pen- 
manship. 

To obtain this result the teacher must be methodical 
in his instruction; he must be thoroughly acquainted 
with the principles of writing, and explain them on the 
black-board; he should correct carefully and regularly 
the work done by the pupils, and pay great attention to 
their posture and the manner in which they hold the pen. 
The children should always do their writing to the best 
of their ability, not only in their writing copybooks, but in 
their exercises of orthography, written tasks, and arith- 
metic; otherwise they would lose at one time what they 



WRITING. 141 

had acquired at another, and make little or no progress. 
This is easily seen in schools where the teachers attach 
little importance to the writing of the exercises given in 
class or as home work. A child, when left to himself, 
makes the letters irregularly and fantastically, and thus 
acquires the habit of defective penmanship. 

Method and processes of teaching writing. By method 
is here meant the series of exercises which the pupil is 
put through in order to attain legibility and speed in 
writing. 

A good method of writing should: 

1. Present models introducing the difficulties grad- 
ually. 

2. Be sufficiently varied to keep up the interest of 
pupils, even though they are kept for several days at the 
same exercises. 

3. Not go from one letter to another without present- 
ing many intermediate exercises, to make the advance 
possible to the majority of the class. 

4. Be of such a character as to render explanations 
and corrections easy for the teacher. 

5. Be legible and easy of execution. 

6. Afford, at intervals, recapitulatory exercises. 
Concurrently with the explanations of the rules and 

principles of writing on the black-board — which ex- 
planations are indispensable — three processes are em- 
ployed in teaching writing: written or engraved models 
printed on sHps of paper or cardboard, the tracing plan, 
and engraved head-lines written in books. 

Cardboard models. The first process consists in plac- 
ing before the pupils sHps of cardboard containing the 
model which the teacher explained on the black-board at 
the beginning of the lesson; this is reproduced on paper, 
having regard to the size of the writing; the teacher ex- 
amines the attempts made, and points out where they 
are defective. The use of these model sHps allows the 
teacher to keep the children at the same writing lesson as 
long as he deems it useful; besides, this process checks 



142 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

the tendency children naturally have of going to the end 
of a book as fast as possible — this tendency is especially 
prejudicial to beginners. In the lower grammar grades 
it would be well to have the paper ruled into spaces to 
indicate the height and width of the letters. 

Tracing plan. This process consists in giving the 
child a book or slip of paper containing a head-line in 
bold type, and also a leaf of thin transparent paper. 
This he places over the head-line, and with a pen or per- 
cil traces the letters as they appear through the trans- 
parent leaf. Sometimes the head-line is traced in the 
copybook in faint or colored ink, and the pupil is re- 
quired to go over it with a pen and black ink, until he 
has gained sufficient mastery over the movements and 
the necessary power of observation to proceed as in the 
first process described. Some series of writing books 
have every second line traced: when the pupil has gone 
over the tracing, he reproduces the same exercise without 
such aid. When employed by a teacher who is perse- 
vering, and who explains carefully the principles on the 
black-board, the tracing plan gives excellent results. It 
is particularly useful in improving defective writing.^ 

Engraved head-line books. These copybooks have an 
engraved head-Hne at the top of each page, and some- 
times one in the middle, and a tracing sufficient to make 
the imitation easy. By degrees these tracings become 
less and less complete, so that eventually the pupils find 
themselves compelled to make a copy of the head-line 
without any artificial help whatsoever. This process 
unites the advantages of the two others, and being con- 
sidered the simplest for beginners, it has been generally 
adopted in schools. However it does not do away with 
the necessity of explaining the principles on the black- 
board. The teacher must watch carefully that the chil- 

1 This process is an old one. Quintilian (35-96) and St. Jerome (a.d. 
329) recommended it; Locke (1632-1704) described it in nis Thoughts 
Concerning Education. Many modern series of copybooks rightly make 
use of it in the early stages. 



WRITING. 143 

dren do not rush to fill the page, without applying them- 
selves to the writing. 

When a pupil has finished a head-line copybook, the 
teacher should examine it carefully; and if the appKca- 
tion and imitation do not merit the note very good or good, 
he ought not to allow the pupil to proceed to a more 
advanced copy: the pupil should write head-Hnes of the 
same kind, until he attains the standard mentioned 
above. He might be made to reproduce carefully the 
head-lines of the finished copybook in a blank exercise 
book. 

The senior division should frequently get as an exer- 
cise in penmanship the neat transcribing of memoran- 
dums, invoices, bills, and bill-heads, etc.; such exercises 
will accustom them to make figures properly, and will 
develop their taste. 

Writing in the primary classes. To obtain good re- 
sults in penmanship, the teacher should pay special at- 
tention to the beginners; if he does not, these pupils will 
contract defective habits of writing, which it will be 
almost impossible to correct afterward. The writing 
lesson ought to be given to all the pupils at the same 
time, to allow the teacher to exercise effective super- 
vision, to see that they sit properly, and hold the pen as 
directed. It would be an abuse of the advantages which 
head-hne copies offer, if one section were at writing while 
another was at reading. 

Use of slates. Writing on slates has been recom- 
mended for very young children, as an exercise in con- 
nection with elementary reading. But there are certain 
preliminaries requiring the teacher's attention for the 
successful use of slates: the pupil must place his slate 
in front of him, as he would a copybook, and hold 
his pencil as he would a pen. If the pencil is well 
pointed, and the pupil does not press too much on it, he 
will not get into the habit of writing heavily; he will have 
been prepared for writing on paper, and the disadvan- 



144 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

tages which may arise from slate work will be avoided. 
When the pencil is short, it should be put in a pencil- 
holder, which is as necessary under these circumstances 
as a pen-holder is for the nib. A short pencil causes the 
pupil to acquire a cramped style of writing. 

Figures. Young pupils must practise forming fig- 
ures. The figures should be decomposed into their 
elements, and the parts traced neatly and proportion- 
ately. All the figures, including seven and nine, must 
be of the same height and breadth, as in the printed book. 
The last line of every page of the copy could be reserved 
for this exercise. The pupils should form their figures 
well during the arithmetic lesson. 

III. — General Principles of Writing. 

Position of the body and arms. i. The body should 
be almost erect, slightly nearer the desk on the left, but 
without touching it. The legs must not be crossed, nor 
thrown back beneath the seat; the two feet should rest 
on the floor, the left a little forward. The teacher should 
not tolerate the habit which nearly all children have of 
sitting carelessly and in a bent posture; nor allow them to 
lean over their work, as this tends to injure the chest 
and eyes. 

2. The left forearm should be laid wholly and almost 
horizontally on the table with the fingers on the paper, 
to move it when needed. 

3. The right forearm should rest on the edge of the 
table, with the elbow about three or four inches distant 
from the body; the wrist should be laid almost flat, and 
the hand so placed that the pen-holder points toward the 
shoulder. 

4. The head should not be bent over the work more 
than is necessary. 

Position of the copybook and pen. i. The copybook 
should be so placed that the lower edge will be almost at 



WRITING. 145 

right angles with the direction of the right forearm, or 
that the direction of slope be nearly perpendicular to the 
edge of the desk. 

2. The pen should be held without effort or strain by 
the first fingers of the hand. The thumb and middle 
finger support the pen and guide it; the index finger 
leans more or less heavily on the pen to produce the body 
strokes. The third and fourth fingers are kept bent, in 
order to give the other three greater ease and freedom. 

3. The two points of the pen must touch the paper. 
Beginners often find this difficult. 

The teacher ought to question the children occasion- 
ally on the rules relative to the position of the body, 
copy, and pen; and be careful to see that they do not 
contract any injurious habits by the violation of these 
rules. ^ 

Remark. Before allowing very young children to use 
copybooks, it would be a help to them to place in their 
fingers a small stick about the thickness of a pen-holder, 
on which are three grooves, marking the position of the 
fingers. They might also be taught to assume a good 
posture, and to make with ease all the movements neces- 
sary for graceful penmanship. 

Regularity in the height and slope of the writing, i. 

A guide to the correct slant of writing can be obtained by 
dividing the upper side of a square into four or five equal 
parts, and joining to the lower left angle the third or 
fourth point of division. 

2. That which makes penmanship perfect is the grace- 
ful shaping of the letters, the firmness of the thick strokes, 
the uniformity of the slope, the regularity of the height, 
and of the distance between letters of the same nature — 
loops, strokes, etc. 

1 If the children are allowed occasionally to write on the black-board a 
great deal of cramped writing might easily be avoided. 



146 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

IV.— The Writing Lesson. 

A writing lesson in its entirety comprises: the oral 
explanation of the principles and initiatory combinations 
by the teacher, the application of these principles by the 
pupils, and the correction of the writing. 

Explanation of the principles by the teacher. Whether 
the head-line copybooks are made use of or not, the oral 
explanation on the black-board should never be omitted; 
it may be conducted in the following manner: 

1. Questions put to the pupils on the proper position 
of the body, copybook, and pen. 

2. Large tracing of the letter to be written. 

3. Analysis of the letter, that is: separate tracing of 
the component parts (loops, parallels, joinings, curves); 
indication of the height, breadth, slope, and joinings; 
relation between the letter and the form from which it is 
derived. 

4. Writing words where this letter is found with others 
already studied. 

For beginners the plan of the lesson is more elemen- 
tary. The letters to be explained are merely written on 
the black-board. Then a very simple explanation is 
given on their form, after which the pupils begin to write 
in their books. 

Principles of Writing. 

Observations, i. Capital and looped letters should 
be of the same height. 

2. The space between the Hues should be generally 
four times the size of the writing. 

3. The loops should begin at a distance of twice the 
thickness of the downstrokes above the body of the 
writing. 

4. The width of the loops of f, 1, ought to be equal to 
that of n, which also ought to be the minimum distance 
between the words. 



WRITING. 147 

5. The smaller and lighter the writing, the longer 
proportionately should be the loops. 

Notes of a writing lesson on the letters o, c, e. i . The 

teacher questions on the position of the body, of the copy- 
book, the holding of the pen. . . . The pupils take their 
pens between the thumb and middle finger; then they 
lower the index and go through in the air the normal 
movements for writing. 

2. Preparatory exercises gone through, while counting, 
to give boldness to the stroke of the pen. 

3. Tracing on the black-board of a large O, about two 
inches high; having the letter this height will help to show 
more easily its different parts. 

4. Tracing of the separate elements of the 0: the left 
hair stroke, the first curve with an increasing thickness; 
the second curve, and the right hair stroke — each ele- 
ment should be traced separately. 

5. After this analysis, new tracing of the letter by a 
slow and continuous movement. 

6. A few questions on the manner of tracing the let- 
ter 0. 

7. The pupils now copy these various exercises. 

8. The teacher writes and gets the pupils to copy two 
or three words in which the letter is combined with let- 
ters already studied. 

9. The analysis of the letters c and e should be gone 
through in the same manner, the teacher showing how 
these letters are derived from the 0. 

Application of the principles by the pupils. After the 
principles relative to a letter have been explained on the 
black-board, the pupils apply them in the following 
manner: 

1. Two or three pupils come out together to the black- 
board to write the letter. Their companions point out 
the faults in the writing, and the teacher has it rewrit- 
ten. 

2. All the pupils reproduce on paper the letter or 
element thus studied, and they recommence it again and 



148 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

again as long as the letter is badly made by the majority 
of the class; this is the first portion of the lesson. 

3. The second portion is devoted to writing on paper 
words which contain the letters already studied. These 
may be taken from a head-line copybook, or the teacher 
may write some on the black-board, and have them re- 
produced on paper. The teacher should see that the 
pupils go through their writing to the best of their ability, 
working slowly and neatly. 

Correcting the writing. The aim in correcting the 
writing of the pupils is to make them acquire a good 
style of penmanship, by pointing out and getting rid 
of the most striking errors. 

Characteristics of good writing. The characteristics 
of good writing are: legibility, symmetry, and elegance. 
These depend on numerous conditions. The following 
are the chief among them: 

1. Beauty in the form of the letters. 

2. Regularity in the height of the writing. 

3. Evenness, neatness, and steadiness of the down- 
strokes. 

4. Regularity in the slope of the letters. 

5. Fineness of the connections. 

6. Sufficient and uniform distance between the words, 
and between the letters of the same word. 

7. Ease and firmness of the stroke of the pen. 

8. Simplicity, which rejects fantastic flourishes. 

Chief defects in writing and their causes. Nearly all 
the defects noticeable in penmanship are due to the bad 
position of the body, and the manner of holding the pen. 
The following are some of these defects and their ordi- 
nary causes: 

Defects. Ordinary Causes. 

' Right arm too near the body. 
Thumb too stiff. 
Point of nib too far away from 
the, fingers. 



Writing too slant 



WRITING. 



149 



Defects. 



Writing too straight - 



Writing too heavy 



Writing too light 



Ordinary Causes. 

Right arm too far away from the 
body. Fingers too near the nib. 

Index finger alone guiding the 
pen. 

Index finger leaning too heavily 
on the pen. 

Using a worn pen. 

Pen-holder of too small diam- 
eter. 

Pen held too obliquely or too 
straight. 

Index finger not pressing suf- 
ficiently. 

Pen-holder of too large diam- 
eter. 



^TTT .^. ^ if Thumb too stiff. 

Writing too angular | p.^.h^^er too lightly held. 



Writing irregular 



Incorrect and uncomfortable po- 
sition of the body. 
Fingers cramped. 
Movements of hand too slow. 
Stiffness in holding pen. 

Way of correcting writing. During the writing lesson 
the teacher should pay great attention to the posture of 
the pupils, and also to the manner in which they exe- 
cute the movements of the fingers and hand. Writing 
can be corrected either individually or collectively. 

Individual correction. Individual corrections may be 
made either during or after class. When the lesson 
given on the black-board refers to a special letter or 
group of letters, the pupils will understand the simplest 
signs made on their copies in connection with the prin- 
ciples explained. 

If the letters are not in a straight line and even, the 



150 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

teacher draws a horizontal Hne, to indicate the course 
the pupil should have followed; if they are not of the 
same height, he draws two parallel horizontal Hnes, 
the distance between which will mark the uniformity the 
pupils should have given to those letters; if they have 
different inclinations, or if the strokes are not straight, 
he draws parallel lines close to the letters, indicating the 
slope they ought to have taken; if they are too far apart 
or too crowded, he draws strokes of the pen at the right 
distance the pupils should have observed; finally, if two 
letters are badly placed or ill connected, he writes those 
letters to show how they should be made. To correct a 
junction badly made, he might write the proper form 
above it. He proceeds in the same way to correct a 
badly formed letter, or else he may write it in the space 
between the lines. 

It is a bad plan to point out more than two or three 
faults at a time; a greater number would distract the 
child's attention, and confuse him. It is therefore wise 
to follow up the same fault until it has almost disap- 
peared, above all if it bear on an important point. In 
proceeding thus, with care and perseverance, the teacher 
can scarcely fail to secure the application of the pupils 
and accelerate their progress. 

Collective correction. The collective process of cor- 
recting is more rapid and more effective than the indi- 
vidual. When, during the individual correction, the 
teacher observes that the same fault occurs in several 
books, he should point out the mistakes, by reproducing 
them on the black-board. He asks a pupil to repeat the 
principle relative to the formation of the letter in ques- 
tion; corrects the defective tracing, and writes it again 
as it should be; he then calls a child to the board, and gets 
him to write it. 

Experience shows that, in order to correct the writing 
of the pupils, a teacher has no surer means than the 
exemplification in his own handwriting of the principles 
he has explained. Children will then have taste for cal- 



WRITING. 151 

ligraphy, and will endeavor to reproduce the special ele- 
gant characteristics which they admire in the writing of 
the teacher. 

The mutual-simultaneous process of correcting. A 

teacher who has much authority, and whose pupils are 
of the same grade, might adopt the following method. 
He might place the most advanced pupil between the 
two most backward; the second best between the two 
next, and so on with the others; he might personally in- 
struct the medium writers, and, without leaving his 
place, correct the others in the manner already indicated. 
The best pupils write a line on the page of each of those 
placed under their care, and, while the latter are imi- 
tating it, they themselves write in their own copybooks. 
Toward the middle of the lesson they might inspect the 
work of their fellow-pupils, point out the defects, and 
write another line in their copybooks. The teacher, 
toward the close of the exercise, should call the pupils in 
groups of three, examine the work done, correct the 
copybook of the monitor, and reward him according to 
the progress made by his pupils. 

This method, which is suitable for small schools, has 
many advantages. The bad writers receive great as- 
sistance, and make rapid progress by reason of the lines 
written on their copybooks and by the numerous correc- 
tions made. The teacher can devote his time almost 
entirely to the medium writers of the class. The best 
pupils, being called upon to teach, are obliged to become 
familiar with the principles of writing, and easily perfect 
themselves in the elementary forms. 

General Remarks. 

A good teacher, who has at heart the advancement of 
his pupils, shall not only be very exact in requiring them 
to follow the regulations as to writing given in the pre- 
ceding articles, but he will be convinced that the neatness 
and good preservation of the copybooks and exercise 



152 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

books contribute very much to the progress of the pupils 
and the good reputation of our schools, and he shall 
therefore insist upon the following: 

1. That all the copybooks be clean and neat, and not 
crumpled or bent at the corners. 

2. That the pages be well filled and none of the leaves 
spoiled. 

3. That the margins of the paper be left uniform, and 
not too wide. 

4. That they neither tear nor skip any page, not even 
the first, and that they leave none unfinished. 

5. That they be careful to put their names and the 
date of the month on each page. 

6. That they write only what is given as a model, and 
that they strive to imitate it exactly. 

7. That they neither flourish nor write on the top of 
their copies, with hand off the paper, until they shall 
have learned to write a rapid and neat business hand. 

8. That, in writing, they follow carefully the character 
of letters prepared for each grade, and that the leaves be 
so turned that the reverse side may be written on to the 
edge of the paper. 

9. That each one has a sheet of paper to put under 
his copybook while writing, and a cover in which to place 
it when the writing lesson is ended. 

The exercises should always bear the date of the day 
on which they are written. 

V. — Book-keeping, Shorthand, Typewriting.^ 

Importance. Book-keeping, as a school subject, af- 
fords the pupils practice in penmanship; accustoms them 
to manipulate rule, pencil, and pen; and makes them 
acquire habits of order and neatness. 

Programme and method. The first lessons in book- 
keeping consist of private transactions: workmen's ac- 

1 The teacher should consult special works on book-keeping, short- 
hand, and typewriting, for full information on the theory and practice 
of these subjects. 



WRITING. 153 

counts, different purchases, cash payments, etc. Com- 
mercial book-keeping may be afterward introduced. 

To keep accounts properly, the book-keeping must be 
very neat in ruling and writing, and exact in all details. 
The items dictated to the pupils should be of a practical 
kind; such as the receipts and expenses of a household, 
of pupils, etc. At the first two or three lessons, all the 
work is to be done on the black-board: the teacher writ- 
ing the items suggested by the pupils, journalizing them 
on another board, and posting on a third. After a few 
lessons the pupils will become familiar with the method 
of keeping accounts. They must always attend to neat- 
ness in writing, ruling, and making figures. The teacher 
explains goods, accounts, and after cash and personal ac- 
counts. All goods are at first bought and sold for cash. 
Afterward promissory notes, etc., may be substituted for 
cash. The pupils should be made to take an active part 
in this work. 

Shorthand : utility. The study of a good system of 
shorthand is a valuable mental discipline. It strength- 
ens attention, exercises the memory, stimulates and 
develops thought and persevering effort. It trains the 
pupil in accuracy and fluency of expression, and increases 
his vocabulary. Besides, it is found a great aid in the 
acquisition of other branches of instruction. A practical 
knowledge of shorthand greatly facihtates the teacher's 
work. In preparing notes of lessons, in reading and in 
study, the teacher who uses shorthand can quickly jot 
down summaries, extracts, illustrations, etc. During 
the lessons he can by a few marks on the black-board or 
on a slip of paper make notes of mistakes, diflicult points, 
hints, remarks, etc., without any notable interruption. 
The happy thoughts that flash on the mind at any time 
may similarly be noted down for future use in teaching. 

Remarks on teaching, i. The teacher must know the 
system thoroughly. He need not be able to write at very 
great speed; but it would discourage pupils to see him 
hesitate much. 



154 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

2. The first lessons should be short. The symbols 
must be so thoroughly mastered that the pupils can write 
them as readily and accurately as they write the digits. 

3. Pupils must be shown their mistakes from the be- 
ginning. Heavy, awkward, cramped, and other bad 
styles are perceptible in the first strokes written; and 
the teacher must patiently and constantly direct the 
pupils in the right way. 

4. The teacher's motto should be: little and thorough. 
At first, a short lesson (ten minutes) every day is better 
than one weekly lesson of an hour, 

5. The black-board should be used frequently. The 
pupils should always write on paper, never on slates. 

6. Dictation should be given at every lesson; the 
teacher writing on the black-board while dictating. 

7. The pupils must read aloud what they have written. 
The teacher should attach more importance to fluent 
reading than to writing. 

8. The pupils should frequently transcribe their short- 
hand into longhand. 

9. A mistake may be indicated by drawing a circle 
around it. 

10. The exercise books should be changed for correc- 
tion. This accustoms pupils to different styles and to 
the criticism of their comrades. 

11. The pupils of a class must be kept together. A 
class is apt to break up into sections very soon in learning 
shorthand; and then the instruction drops into the indi- 
vidual method — the teacher going from pupil to pupil, 
making a remark here and a correction there. Quick 
pupils should first do the class lesson; they may then be 
allowed to do the next exercise instead of idly waiting 
for the others. 

12. The teacher must always insist on neatness and 
accuracy. Speed may be attained by practice; but speed 
in making marks that the writer cannot read fluently is 
worse than waste of time. 



WRITING. 155 

A First Lesson (ten minutes). 

1. Teacher writes four or five characters and their 
names on the black-board, and directs the attention of 
pupils to the required slope, length, etc. 

2. Pupils copy them in their books. 

3. Teacher writes each of the characters several times, 
naming them while doing so, and tells the pupils to write 
them similarly in their books. 

4. While the pupils are writing, the teacher inspects 
their work and makes remarks to direct them; " too long, 
too heavy, good, wrong slope, look at the black-board," 
etc. 

5. Teacher writes the characters several times in any 
order on the black-board, the pupils calling out the 
names as he writes. 

6. Pupils called on singly to read from the black-board 
as the teacher points. 

7. Teacher dictates the characters, and writes on a 
black-board from which the pupils cannot copy. 

8. Teacher turns black-board to class; gets pupils to 
read from their books; sees whether pupils read what 
they have written, and whether this is what was dictated. 

Much book-work done by pupils alone is dull and 
wearisome. When pupils are familiar with the elemen- 
tary part of the subject, and are using text-books, lessons 
may be given somewhat on the following plan: 

1. Reading, explanation, and illustration of a rule, us- 
ing other words than those of the text-book. 

2. Dictation of illustrative words; teacher writing 
them on black-board while dictating. 

3. Reading aloud by pupils, and correction. 

4. Dictation of exercise on rule; teacher writing on 
black-board. Change of exercise books, and correction 
from black-board. 

5. Reading by several pupils of their corrected exer- 
cise; and reading from random pointing on black-board. 

6. Transcription of exercise (or part) into longhand. 



156 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

With advanced pupils the lesson may consist mainly 
of the dictation, reading, and transcription of letters, 
speeches, sermons, etc. Unusual words and phrases in 
the dictation may first be written on the black-board; 
the teacher may also write suitable contractions for 
certain words. These words and phrases are effaced 
before beginning the dictation. Advanced pupils should 
be encouraged to use shorthand freely in their other 
school-work. 

Typewriting. The teacher should thoroughly know 
the construction and working of the machine used in his 
school. 

Pupils should systematically master the key-board 
before being allowed to do any copying, and use at 
least three fingers of each hand. The practice work 
ought to be as varied as possible: prose, verse, lists 
of names, figures, bills, letters, dialogues. Examination 
lists, papers, etc., for use in the school, may be made by 
manifolding and duplicating processes. 



CHAPTER IV. 

LANGUAGE. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Language comprises two 
essential elements: thought, and its reproduction, which 
is expression. Thinking is the active, complete, and 
simultaneous exercise of all the faculties. Speaking pre- 
supposes ideas which the mind receives through the 
senses, conscience, and reason. The jitdgment compares 
these ideas among themselves or with others furnished 
by memory and colored by the imagination. Finally 
reason connects the different propositions so as to form a 
logical whole. But since the soul is one, the thoughts 



LANGUAGE. 1 57 

which fill the mind must react on the sensibility. Now 
conscience acts, and the will determines the course of 
action. Thus language exercises a complete and con- 
tinuous influence on all the powers of the soul. 

Principles to be followed, (i) Instruction in language 
must act on the intelligence, and teach how to think; 
(2) by it the pupils must acquire a knowledge of words 
and forms of expression; (3) all the school subjects ought 
to be utilized as aids to language; (4) the teachings 
should be moral — examples in grammar, poems to be 
memorized, head-Hnes, should all tend to give a love for 
the true, the beautiful, and the good. 

Elementary instruction in one's own language consists 
of exercises in the spoken or general language, and in the 
written language. The first are exercises in speaking; 
the second are grammar and grammatical exercises, or- 
thography, composition, and the study of selected texts. 

II. — Exercises in Language and Vocabulary. 

Their nature and object. By exercises in language 
a child is trained to speak with ease and correctness. 
This correctness and facility depend on the early home 
training, and on the extent of the vocabulary at the 
child's command. The teacher should endeavor to in- 
crease the number of words famihar to the child, and 
at the same time the ideas which these words represent. 
Two means might be employed for this purpose: to make 
the pupils speak as much and as carefully as possible, 
and to give them special exercises in words and their 
meanings. 

First means. To make the pupils speak often and 
well in class, the teacher should take care to question 
frequently during the lessons, and not accept monosyl- 
labic or incomplete answers; to encourage them to ex- 
press themselves in complete and connected sentences; 
to reprove them gently in order to correct too much 
hurry, or hesitation in language, faults in pronunciation, 



158 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

incorrect expressions, or wearisome repetitions of words 
or phrases. 

The principal school exercises by which children are 
trained to the correct use of language are: Socratic and 
examination questions; oral exercises in grammar and 
lexicology; oral summaries of the reading lessons; object 
lessons; oral preparation for composition — the descrip- 
tion of an object, a scene, the narration of a tale, etc. 

Object lessons. Object lessons and exercises in lan- 
guage training mutually help and complete each other. 
Object lessons help in composition by habituating the 
pupils to express themselves correctly, which will lead 
them to write correctly; by showing them how, in a given 
subject, the ideas relating thereto may be logically con- 
nected; and by furnishing them with matter for composi- 
tion. 

The following language training lesson on wood may 
be taken as a type of exercise suitable for young pupils. 

1. Ask for the names of objects in school, home, and 
church, which are made of wood: tables, desks, win- 
dows, cupboards, beams, floors, beds, chairs, pews, 
pulpits, etc. 

2. Ask for the chief kinds of wood used to make these 
objects: oak, pine, walnut, etc. 

3. Ask for the classes of workmen who make cup- 
boards, doors, chairs, etc. 

4. Ask for the names of chief instruments they use: 
hammers, saws, chisels, etc. 

Material to get ready: specimens of wood in order 
that the children may compare weight, color, veins, etc. 

Exercises: write on the board the names of trees, ob- 
jects, and implements, etc., and have them copied. 

Second means : special exercises on words. These 
oral exercises should be adapted to the intellectual de- 
velopment of the pupils, and may take any of the follow- 
ing forms: 

I. To make a child say the name of an object and of 
all its different parts, either by showing it to him, or 



LANGUAGE. 1 59 

recalling it to his memory: school furniture, dwell- 
ings, etc. 

2. To make him enumerate a series of objects or 
beings of the same species: animals, quadrupeds, birds, 
plants, virtues, defects, etc. 

3. To make him enumerate a certain number of ad- 
jectives applicable to food, color, virtue, etc.; the nouns 
or the verbs relating to language, to motion, or to handi- 
crafts, etc. 

4. To substitute for a word its equivalent, its con- 
trary, a phrase or clause, etc., and employ each in a 
sentence. 

5. To complete a sentence some of the parts of which 
are omitted. 

6. To have added to a word one or several epithets 
which suit it. 

7. To have the nature and the use of familiar objects 
stated. 

8. To have certain words explained and defined: to 
have the difference between expressions pointed out. 

9. To have different forms given to a sentence, and to 
have it begun successively by given words. 

10. To have expressions, proverbs, etc., explained. 
These Various exercises should not be limited to the 

mere seeking for words; the children must be questioned 
on the ideas of which these words are only the outward 
signs. 

The following language training lesson on the word 
care, its roots and derivatives, is suitable for a senior 
class: 

To find the family of a word is to find the simple and 
compound derivatives of that word. 

Root. Cura = care, cure. The dominant idea in the 
words of this family is that of care and attention; 
the secondary idea in many of them is the getting or 
the avoiding of care. 

Derivatives, {a) With suffix; curacy, curator, curatives, 
curious, careless, curable, careful, curate. 



l6o ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

{b) With prefix; secure, sinecure, procure. 

(c) With prefix and suffix; accurate, incurious, procurator, 
incurable. 

(d) With double affixes; insecure, carefully, carelessness. 

(e) Compound words; careworn, care-taking. 

Oral exercises. Sentences* should be constructed in 
which these words are appropriately used. 

Written exercise. Sentences to be composed on each 
of the words: curacy, procurator, inaccurate, careless. 

III. — Grammar. 

The study of grammar leads to a knowledge of the 
rules of composition. The chief exercises connected with 
it are analysis and the conjugation of verbs, and synthesis. 

The grammar lesson. A grammar lesson might be 
generally given on the following hnes: 

1. Recapitulation of the preceding lesson by means of 
questions. 

2. The explanation of a grammatical definition or of a 
rule in syntax, the definition or rule being generally de- 
duced from a variety of examples. 

3. Orally making sentences in which the rules are 
applied, and finding examples of the rule in the reading 
books. 

4. The pointing out of an exercise to be done and a 
text to be studied. 

When teaching a rule in grammar, one of the two fol- 
lowing means might be employed according to the age 
of the pupils. 

First means : to go from the rule to examples. This 
means is successful only with pupils of the higher gram- 
mar grades. The teacher formulates the rule or has it 
read from the manual; he explains it and then shows its 
application in examples written on the board; he after- 



LANGUAGE. l6l 

ward asks the children to find examples in which the rule 
is appKed. 

Second means : to go from examples to the rule. In 

elementary instruction in grammar, it is preferable to 
go from the particular to the general, from examples to 
the rule. Thus, in teaching the noun, the teacher might 
ask some of the pupils' names, or better still write them 
on the black-board; then he might remark that every 
person has a name. Afterward, pointing out some of 
the objects in the class-room, he asks for their names and 
writes them on the black-board. He then states that 
everything has a name; and concludes by saying that the 
names written on the black-board are nouns, because 
some of them serve to name and distinguish persons, 
others to name and distinguish things and places. 
Thence the definition is easily deduced, and the teacher 
has only to state precisely its terms. 

In the same way the name of some object might be 
written on the black-board, and the pupils questioned 
as to what qualities belong to it; the names of these qual- 
ities are then written with the name of the object; after 
some explanation on the words, quality, to qualify and 
qualifying, the definition of a qualifying adjective is 
easily formulated. 

This means does not exclude the study of the book, 
without which the pupils would quickly forget both rules 
and definitions. By the oral lesson the grammar is ex- 
plained; but it is by the application of the rules either 
orally or in writing, and by memory work, that the prin- 
ciples are fixed in the minds of the children. 

General observations. The teacher of grammar 
should attend to the following remarks: 

1. The important thing is to make the children 
understand, learn, and afterward apply few rules at a 
time. 

2. To teach a definition or rule the experimental and 
inductive method, which goes from examples to the defi- 
nition or rule, seems preferable to the deductive method 



l62 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOOY. 

which descends from a stated principle to an example 
illustrating it. 

3. The grammar of ideas ought to be substituted for 
the grammar of words and formulas; the latter is more 
rapid and convenient, but too often limits itself to putting 
into the minds of children vague notions. The teacher 
should show by examples that in its essential points 
grammar is only the logic of language. When treating 
of the parts of speech he should say that nouns are re- 
quired to designate beings, and adjectives to show their 
qualities; articles and demonstrative adjectives to dis- 
tinguish these nouns from one another; pronouns to 
avoid the frequent repetition of nouns, verbs to make 
actions known, and adverbs to render precise the diverse 
modes of actions and states; prepositions and conjunc- 
tions to show the relations of ideas and sentences. Thus 
the pupil will learn practically a little logic. 

4. The parts of speech, the reciprocal relations of the 
elements of a proposition, and the rules of syntax which 
show the way the words of a sentence and the sentences 
among themselves are joined, should be simultaneous 
studies. 

5. Grammar contains two kinds of rules: some are 
continually used, and a person cannot be ignorant of 
them without exposing himself to glaring mistakes; there 
are others more subtle but less necessary in practice. 
The study of these latter rules should be reserved for the 
senior classes. 

6. The general rule should first be explained; in 
studying and applying it the important exceptions may 
be deduced. When possible the pupils should be al- 
lowed to find the rule. 

7. The teacher should consider frequent and varied 
exercises in conjugation as being of capital importance. 
This holds good in the study of every language. 

8. In grammatical instruction the book is only sec- 
ondary, but it is necessary; the pupils require it after the 
lesson, to study the exact formula of definitions and 
rules, and to make recapitulations and reviews, with- 



LANGUAGE. 1 63 

out which they would soon forget the explanations, even 
those they had thoroughly learned. 

Analysis. Analysis is an important exercise in the 
teaching of grammar, composition, reading, and modern 
languages. The weakness of children in these different 
subjects comes in part from the fact that the decomposi- 
tion and analytical study of sentences is not made prac- 
tical for them. Sufficient exercises in analysis are gone 
through, but in a mechanical way, instead of exercising 
the reflection and judgment of the pupils, and accustom- 
ing them to give an account of what they read or write. 

Analysis is general or particular according as sen- 
tences are divided into their logical elements, which are 
propositions, or into their grammatical elements, which 
are words. Analysis follows instruction in grammar, of 
which it is the application; but its chief object is to make 
the children reflect, to give them greater facility in un- 
derstanding what they read, in composing correctly and 
punctuating properly what they write. 

General directions, i. Analysis, whether particular 
or general, is a test of the grammatical knowledge of the 
pupils; hence they should be asked to analyze only such 
matter as they have already studied. 

2. As far as possible, analysis, both general and par- 
ticular should be carried on together, for both study the 
organism of the sentence: the first the ideas, the second 
the nature and function of the words. 

3. Analysis explains ideas first, then words; hence 
general analysis should precede particular analysis. 

4. Exercises in analysis should generally be done 
orally. 

5. The aim of grammatical analysis is to show the 
reciprocal relation of the parts of a sentence, and of the 
sentences among themselves; in attaining this result all 
subtlety of nomenclature should be avoided. 

Primary grades. The chief object of grammatical 
analysis (parsing) in the primary grades is to make the 



1 64 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

pupils find out the parts of speech already studied, as 
far as the knowledge of grammar already acquired per- 
mits. The text of the reading lesson, or anything else 
previously written in their copybooks or on the black- 
board, serves for this exercise: the teacher will take 
special notice sometimes of one kind of word, and some- 
times of another. As the grammatical instruction ad- 
vances, certain complementary attributes may be added, 
such as the gender, number, and person of nouns and 
pronouns, the tenses of verbs, and the moods in which 
they are used. 

During this exercise, questions might sometimes be 
asked on the grammatical rules which are applied, thus 
teaching the child to reason, and to prove his analysis. 

Lower grammar grades. When the pupils of the lower 
grammar grades are able to recognize the subject and the 
extensions of a verb, they may be initiated into general 
analysis, which thenceforth should precede and simplify 
particular analysis. 

Instruction in this subject must be, perhaps more than 
in any other, methodical and progressive. The teacher 
should first get the pupils to analyze only simple sen- 
tences the essential terms of which are expressed by one 
word as Tom ate a cake. The subject might be at one 
time a proper noun, at another a common noun, for 
which a pronoun might be substituted later. The verb 
might be introduced in different tenses and different 
persons; then, after suitable explanations, completions 
and extensions are added. 

Keeping within the limits of the children's knowledge 
of grammar, the teacher should proceed to particular 
analysis, which, however, he will generally restrict to 
the more important words of the sentence to be analyzed. 

Higher grammar grades. In the higher grammar 
grades the pupils practise the dividing of a sentence into 
its parts. This work should not be difficult or compli- 
cated in the beginning. At first the teacher merely dis- 
tinguishes between the sentences, speaking of them as 



LANGUAGE. 165 

principal and subordinate, waiting till later, to remark 
that the latter are also called enlargements and exten- 
sions, and that there are as many different kinds as there 
are different complements. The relation of the sen- 
tences and their connection with one another are care- 
fully noticed, and the attention of pupils is drawn to 
the connecting word. The idea expressed in the sen- 
tence is clearly brought out. The difficulties in connec- 
tion with particular analysis, which were not explained 
to the lower grammar grades, are explained to this sec- 
tion. 

Specimen Lessons: Number (of nouns). 

Singular. Pencils, pens, books, slates, keys, etc., are 
placed on the table; the black-board is divided into two 
columns. The teacher holds up one pencil and asks: 
What is this object? (A pencil.) Spell the word. How 
many have I in my hand? (One.) The word is written 
on the board, in the left column. One pen, one book, etc., 
are shown and questions similar to those above are asked, 
and the words written under the word pencil. 

Plural. The teacher holds up a pencil in each hand, 
and asks: What is this object? (A pencil.) And this? 
(A pencil.) He holds two pencils in one hand and asks: 
What have I in my hand? (Two pencils.) The word 
pencils is written in the right-hand column opposite the 
word pencil. Similarly for three pencils, four pencils, 
etc., two, three, four pens, etc., and the words: pens^ 
books, etc., are written under pencils. The teacher 
elicits from the pupils that the words in the left column 
stand for 07te thing, and those in the right for several 
things. He states that when nouns are examined in this 
way they are spoken of in reference to number : when a 
single object is meant, the noun is said to be in the sin- 
gular number; when several objects are referred to, the 
noun is said to be in the plural number. The black- 
board illustration may take the following form: 



1 66 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



Singular Number. 


Plural Number. 


Words standing for one thing. 


Words standing for more than one 
thing. 


Pencil 

Pen 

Book 


Pencils. 

Pens. 

Books. 



Formation of plural. The pupils are made to observe 
how the words in the right-hand column differ from those 
in the left: an s is added to each. They are told that this 
is the general way to form the plural in nouns. At the 
next lesson irregular plurals are explained; and at later 
lessons, number in verbs and their agreement with their 
subjects are taught. 

Tenses. 

The teacher may question the pupils as follows: Did 
you take breakfast to-day? Had you breakfast yester- 
day? Will you take breakfast to-morrow? The three 
great divisions of time are deduced. 

Present tense. A pupil is told to walk across the 
room, and to tell what he is doing. He answers: / walk 
now. Another says: / talk now. Another, / learn gram- 
mar at present, etc. 

Past tense. The teacher asks a pupil: Were you at 
school yesterday? Did you walk or ride to school? / 
walked to school yesterday. By questioning, other pupils 
are made to say : He talked last week ; John listened yes- 
terday. 

Future tense. A pupil is asked: Will you come to 
school to-morrow ? I will come to school to-morrow. He 
will come like a thief, etc. 

The teacher ehcits from the pupils that the first-col- 
umn sentences indicate actions done at the present time 



LANGUAGE. 



167 



(now); the middle-column indicate actions done in the 
past, and the right-column, actions to be done in the 
future. He tells the class that the term used in gram- 
mar for present time, is present tense, etc. 

Black-board Sketch. 



Present Tense. 


Past Tense. 


Future Tense. 


Actions done at 
present time. 


Actions done in 
past time. 


Actions to be done in 
the future. 


I walk now. 

I talk at present. 

We learn grammar. 


I walked to school yes- 
terday. 
He talked last week. 

John learned grammar. 


I shall walk to school 

to-morrow. 
He will come like a 

thief. 
They will learn history. 



Formation of tenses. The pupils are made to notice 
how the past tense is formed from the present; also how 
the future is formed. They are told that shall and will 
are employed to form the future tense. 

Review. When is a verb in the present tense? In 
the past tense? What is the sign of the future tense? 
etc. 

Sentence. 



Sentence. The teacher writes on the black-board 
such names as man, hoy, bird, horse, etc., and asks the 
pupils to make a statement or say something about each: 
the man walks; the boy prays; the bird flies. He may 
address the class thus: If I walked into a room and 
said to you, while pointing to a man outside the window, 
the man walks, would you understand what I meant? 
(Yes.) The other sentences should be similarly ques- 
tioned on. The teacher tells the class that a group of 
words conveying some complete sense is called a sentence. 



1 68 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Parts of a sentence. The questions may follow one 
another, thus: Read the first sentence. What am I 
speaking about? (A man.) What am I speaking 
about in the second sentence? (A boy.) And in the 
third sentence? (A bird.) 

In each sentence I am speaking about something. Read 
the first sentence again. What do I say about the man? 
(That he walks.) In each sentence I make a statement 
about something. The word or words that denote what 
I speak about is called the subject ; what I say about that 
of which I speak is called the predicate. Questions are 
put to impress the terms subject and predicate. What 
part of the sentence is man? (The subject.) Why? 
Read the word which is the predicate, — walks. Why is 
walks the predicate? etc. 

The teacher may put the following form on the black- 
board: 



Subject. 


Predicate. 


What I speak about. 


What I say. 


The man 
The boy 
The bird 


walks. 



Enlargements of the Subject. 

The black-board being divided into two columns, the 
following sentences are written on the left side: The 
boy sings; my brother came with me; the book is soiled; 
walking is agreeable; the boy showed his slate. The 
subject in each sentence is underlined. The pupils are 
questioned thus: Do you know the kind of boy that 
sings ? Is he tall or small; fat or thin, etc. ? The teacher 
selects the most suitable of the adjectives suppKed by the 
pupils, e.g., the tall boy sings. 

Questioning on the second sentence, the teacher may 



LANGUAGE. 1 69 

say to the pupil: What are your brothers' names? 
(John, Patrick, James.) Which of them came with you? 
(Patrick.) Repeat the statement fully: My brother 
Patrick came with me. The other sentences are ques- 
tioned on similarly, and the right and left columns ap- 
pear on the black-board as shown below: 



The boy sings. 
My brother came with me. 
The book is soiled. 
Walking is agreeable. 
The boy showed his slate. 



The tall boy sings. 
My brother, Patrick, came with me. 
The girVs book is soiled. 
Walking in the park is agreeable. 
The boy, having -finished his work, 
showed his slate. 



The teacher elicits from the pupils that the underlined 
words in the right-hand column tell something about 
the subject, modify our knowledge of it, and are called 
its modifiers. By examining the sentences, the pupils 
should be made to observe that the subject may be modi- 
fied by: adjectives, nouns in apposition, possessive cases, 
prepositional and participial phrases, etc. 

Lessons on the modifiers of the object and on the ex- 
tensions of the predicate may be given in a similar man- 
ner. 

Complex Sentence, 

Before getting the pupils to analyze complex sen- 
tences, it would be advisable to have a few such sentences 
constructed. The teacher writes on the black-board 
the sentence: The hoy got the position; he gets the pupils 
to distinguish the subject, predicate, and object, and 
asks: What boy got the position? and arrives at the 
statement: The boy who was diligent at school got 
the position. Is the position a good one? What salary 
is attached to it? The following sentence is added: 
The boy who was diligent at school got the position which 
is worth $300 a year. When did the boy get the posi- 
tion? When this question has been answered the com- 
plete statement will stand thus: When he grew up, the 



lyo ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

boy who was diligent at school got the position which is 
worth $300 a year. 

The pupils will easily see that the expression *'who was 
diligent at school" enlarges the subject, and is an adjec- 
tive clause; similarly for the enlargement of the object, 
and the extension of the predicate. 

Exercises on conjugations. Exercises on conjugation 
of verbs are of the utmost importance. By a kind of in- 
tuitive process, they are begun with very young children 
in the first grammar lessons. They should be increased 
in the primary and lower grammar grades, and still more 
in the higher grammar division, particularly at the be- 
ginning of the scholastic year. These exercises are fre- 
quently done orally, but they should also be written. 

To prevent the lesson from becoming too mechanical 
the teacher may generally have the verbs conjugated in 
certain tenses or in certain persons, preferably in the 
tenses most used. 

It is also advantageous to conjugate orally by propo- 
sitions, that is to give to the verb an extension or com- 
pletion which can be changed for each of the three per- 
sons. The teacher should make sure that the pupils 
know well the terminations of the verb for the different 
persons and numbers. Exercises like the following are 
suitable for these ends: conjugate through the three 
persons singular and plural, the sentence — / learn my 
lesson^ thou learnest thy lesson^ he learns his lessony etc. 

IV. — Orthography. 

Orthography is the way of spelling correctly the words 
of a language, according to estabhshed usage. For the 
past few years dictation has been violently attacked in 
pedagogical works, but this was owing to the abuse of 
the exercise. Sometimes dictation was looked on only 
as a means of keeping the children occupied; and neither 
measure nor intelligence was used in the choice of matter 
for dictation; it was rarely prepared, so that, however 



LANGUAGE. I7I 

useful and interesting it might be, it became a dry and 
tedious task. Some reformers have even advocated its 
radical suppression: this is going from one error to an- 
other. Dictation is the complement of the oral lessons 
in spelling, as well as a test of the knowledge the pupils 
have in this subject. 

Orthography is chiefly a matter of memory; the more, 
then, the different recollections connected with words 
are increased, the greater chance there is of fixing the 
correct spelling of the word in the child's memory. 
The rational methods of teaching spelling are to have 
the word seen either by reading it from the book or from 
the black-board; to have it heard, by pronunciation; to 
have it written either by transcription or dictation. 

Preparatory classes. The pupils of the preparatory 
classes are initiated into orthography : (i) By spelling 
first from the open book, then with the book closed, 
certain words which they have just read in the lesson; 
(2) by copying the words in transcription. 

They might be made to transcribe the text of the read- 
ing book according as they learn to read it. When they 
know how to read fluently, they should attempt tran- 
scription properly so called. For this exercise, the teach- 
er selects a short paragraph from a chapter which has 
just been read; he writes on the black-board any words 
which might present a difficulty either in meaning or 
orthography; he explains them and has them spelled. 
The pupils then apply themselves to transcribe the para- 
graph indicated. 

From time to time a dictation of two or three Hnes 
containing some of the words which have been trans- 
cribed, or even a short phrase previously written, might 
serve as an examination test, and stimulate primary 
pupils. 

The teacher might also have written on the black- 
board, after having explained them, a series of words 
having some connection with each other; for instance, 
the names of the days of the week, of the months, and of 



172 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

the seasons of the year; the first ten or twenty numerals; 
the names of ecclesiastical, civil, or military grades; or 
again the names of objects in the class-room, at home, in 
the church, in the country, in the farm-yard, etc. 

The primary grades. The pupils of this division learn 
orthography by means of the following exercises: (i) The 
spelling of some words during the reading lesson; (2) 
transcription; (3) dictation. 

Works on the study of language contain exercises 
which should be explained by the teacher and written 
carefully by the pupils. The children transcribe select- 
ed words of different kinds, thus learning their correct 
spelling. Dictation lessons might intervene as a means 
of testing. They bear the same relation to spelling that 
recitations do to the study of memory lessons. 

Lower and higher grammar grades. In the lower and 
higher grammar grades the following processes might be 
employed with advantage in the study of spelling: 

1. In reading lessons the attention of the pupils is 
drawn to the orthography of certain w^ords. 

2. The teacher makes a list of common words in 
which the pupils are liable to make mistakes, and gives 
some of them after each dictation. 

3. The pupils write once or several times, either in 
the margin or at the end of the dictation, the words 
which they have spelled wrong. 

4. The pupils learn a list of roots, chosen from those 
which are used in the formation of words frequently met 
with. 

5. Some teachers employ another process with success. 
At a suitable time they indicate to the pupils some pages 
of a reading book from which the dictation will be 
chosen. Sometimes they divide the class into rival sec- 
tions; at the head of each is a monitor, who prepares his 
side for the examination in orthography, by exercises in 
spelling on the selected text. The reading books might 
be replaced by collections of dictations or literary ex- 
tracts, which are distributed at an opportune time. If 



LANGUAGE. 1 73 

the teacher has authority and knows how to stir up emu- 
lation, he may obtain rapid progress by this means. 

Choice of the dictation, i. As dictation is an exercise 
in orthography, it should be chosen with the object of 
applying the rules studied in the grammar lessons pre- 
viously given. 

2. Generally the dictation should be a continuous text, 
chosen for its simplicity, interest, and beautiful ideas. 

3. If the text dictated does not give sufficient applica- 
tion of certain important words, it might be followed by 
detached sentences containing the words. These sen- 
tences should be natural, and not taken at will to multi- 
ply difficulties. 

4. Dictations should be short. It is best always to 
spare time for correction and for the oral or written ex- 
ercises to which the dictation may give occasion. Be- 
sides, experience proves that the progress of the pupils 
depends less on the number and length of the dictations 
than on the skill of the teacher in deriving the best possi- 
ble advantage from these exercises. 

5. It would be well if the dictation given in the month- 
ly tests were recapitulatory, that is, containing a certain 
number of sentences borrowed from previous dictations. 
It would be even advantageous to give as a test a dicta- 
tion which has been already written and corrected. 

How to give dictation. Before having the test written, 
the teacher should read it aloud slowly. If there be any 
words in it which he thinks the greater number of the 
pupils would be likely to spell incorrectly, he should have 
them spelled aloud and even written on the black-board. 
This is necessary in order to prevent the children from 
getting a wrong impression fixed on their minds, which 
would make them reproduce the same mistakes fre- 
quently. 

The dictation proper might follow these lines. The 
teacher, being very careful to articulate clearly, dictates 
part of a sentence slowly; the pupil farthest away says 
it again, and all write it in silence; then one of the slowest 



174 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

writers repeats it aloud. Sometimes, particularly when 
the room is not very large, the repetition by the pupils 
may be omitted, and the dictation read only once; the 
pupils become quickly accustomed to this, and their at- 
tention is better sustained. 

In classes comprising several divisions, part of the 
time might be given to each. While dictation is being 
given to one division, the others may be engaged at some 
exercise in orthography which has been explained to 
them. The punctuation should be made evident by 
pauses. The different punctuations should be called 
out completely in the primary grades; the periods and 
semicolons in the middle division; the periods only in 
the senior division. 

Correction of the dictation. There are several meth- 
ods of correcting dictation: 

1. Correction after each sentence or group of sen- 
tences. The teacher makes a sign to one pupil to begin 
the speUing; then he tells another to continue, and so on 
till the end of the sentence or group of sentences. If he 
notices some important words or any other difficulty, he 
stops the exercise to give an explanation of the orthogra- 
phy of these words, or to question the pupils on the 
difficulty. 

2. When the dictation is completely finished, the 
teacher has spelled aloud the words which he thinks the 
pupils may have misspelled, and makes each pupil cor- 
rect his own work. More than any other, this method of 
correction needs constant supervision. 

3. The pupils change exercise books for the spelling. 
Each pupil underlines his companion's mistakes, and 
marks the number in the margin; then he takes his own 
book and corrects the misspelled words which he finds 
marked. If the pupils were backward, a second spelling 
of the more important words might be necessary. 

4. Correction without spelling. The dictation is writ- 
ten on a black-board by one pupil, while his companions 
do it in their copybooks; the black-board work is then 



LANGUAGE. 1 75 

corrected, and each pupil corrects his own or that which 
has been given to him. 

The teacher himself should correct the dictation which 
has been done as a test, merely underlining the mis- 
takes. It is only by correcting them personally in this 
way, that he will be able to note the progress of the pu- 
pils; moreover the nature of the errors will guide him 
in selecting the best means of preventing them. 

Verification of corrections. To make sure that the 
corrections of the dictation have been well made, one of 
the following means may be adopted: i. The teacher 
takes up the copybooks, sometimes of one desk, some- 
times of another, so as to see them all once or twice a 
week in the lower classes, more rarely in the higher; or he 
takes the books of the three or four pupils whom he has 
remarked most attentive or most distracted. He then 
looks over the books, and rewards or punishes accord- 
ing to the number of errors which have been left uncor- 
rected. 

2. The teacher takes up the books as described above, 
and has them examined by some of the advanced 
pupils. 

3. In some classes the pupils form rival camps; then 
each one corrects the copybook of his rival, and which- 
ever of the two pupils has cori:ected best, receives a re- 
ward. 

The teacher should do his utmost to make the pupils 
attend to spelling, not only in the dictation and the exer- 
cises which accompany it, but also in everything else 
they may have to write: letters, compositions, problems, 
and transcriptions. 

The title of the dictation should be written on the first 
line of the copy. The dictation might be followed by 
exercises, grammatical and etymological, varying in 
difficulty according to the division. The explanations 
should bear on few words, and be written immediately 
after the dictation exercise. These explanations must 
first be done orally. For the primary grades they might 



176 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

be afterward written on the black-board, and copied by 
the pupils. The corrected work should then be revised 
by the teacher. 

Primary Grades. 

Christmas. 

"Christmas! the very word is an epic. It rings in the brain like 
some haunting chord of music. The mere thought of it fills the mind 
with a whole gallery of enchanting pictures. The least reference to it 
is like a snatch of joyous song." — The Golden Stair. 

(i) Words to write on black-board and explain. 

Christmas, epic, haunting chord, mere, gallery, enchant- 
ing, reference, snatch. 

(2) Verbs. Is, rings, fills. Adjectives. Very, mere, 
haunting, whole, enchanting 

(3) Composition. When is Christmas? Kind of 
weather? Do you like it? Why? 

Lower Grammar Grades. 

The Evening Milking. 

"The sun has already set, and the night breeze is chilly. Within 
the dairy yonder there will soon be Correggio-like effects — deep 
shade only partially removed by lighted lanterns. One hears the 
clink of heavy shoon on the bowlders, and the clatter of pails be- 
tween dairy and byre. The splish-splash of the evening milking has 
begun." — I hid. 

(i) Words to write and explain . Correggio-like, par- 
tially, lanterns, clink, shoon, bowlders, byre, splish- 
splash. 

(2) Words to compare. Dairy, byre, cHnk, clatter. 

(3) Composition exercise. '^ Describe the Evening 
Milking you have seen." 



LANGUAGE. 177 

Higher Grammar Grades. 

Paper. 

The ancients used paper made from the leaves of the papyrus. At 
an ulterior but indeterminate epoch the textile filaments which envelop 
cotton grains were used. China glories in this invention; but the 
Arabs appropriated it in the eighth century, and introduced it into the 
countries which they subjected to the Crescent. . . . 

Words to explain. Papyrus, textile, filament, Cres- 
cent. 

(i) Summary. For writing — the bark of trees, the 
leaves of the papyrus, wood, and paper manufactured 
from cotton or rags, were used. 

(2) Paper. Word formed from papyrus, the name of a 
reed which grows abundantly on the banks of the Nile. 

(3) Ulterior. Placed after. It has for synonym pos- 
terior, and for contrary, anterior. 

(4) Indeterminate. Formed from term (bourne or 
limit) and the two prefixes de and in. Words of the 
same family: termination and determine. 

(5) Textile. Which may be woven. Principal textile 
plants: flax, hemp, cotton. 

(6) Crescent. This word designates here the Turkish 
power, the standard of which is a crescent. 

V. — Composition. 

No exercise gives children more trouble than com- 
position, because no other requires so much reflection and 
unaided work; but the great difficulty which pupils in the 
higher grammar grades find in narrative or description, 
and more especially in composition on abstract subjects, 
often arises from the fact of their not having been suffi- 
ciently prepared in the lower grades. Not to accus- 



178 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

torn a pupil to composition till he is in the lower or per- 
haps in the higher grammar grades, and then to expect 
him to treat a subject which requires a knowledge of style, 
is like trying to build without foundations. It is not to be 
wondered at if the results of such a practice are very 
mediocre. The young pupil knows few things, and con- 
sequently has few ideas; his vocabulary is very limited, 
and he does not always understand the meaning of the 
simple words which he uses. The teacher must then 
begin by giving him ideas and words; and by a logical 
series of exercises, teach him to connect those ideas and to 
express them correctly. 

Primary grades. In these grades less time should be 
given to the work of composition proper, than to exer- 
cises conducive to the development of the faculty of ob- 
servation, to the increasing of ideas and words, and to 
the making of short statements about things. 

To develop the faculty of observation in a child, and 
at the same time to enlarge his vocabulary, so that he 
may be able to write without too much sameness and 
monotony, several different methods are adopted. The 
most practical is this: A famihar object is shown to the 
pupils, and by a series of suitable questions, they are led 
to reflect, and to find the ideas and words which the ob- 
ject may suggest — nature, form, color, dimensions, con- 
stituent parts, uses, etc. Thus the children are accus- 
tomed to speak and form complete sentences, instead of 
replying, as they are inclined to do, by a single word. 
In answer to the question What is the color of your rule ? 
the child ought not to be allowed to answer by the single 
word, black; he should be made to say or to write on the 
black-board: My rule is black or My rule is black and 
shiny. Some short sentences written on the black- 
board would summarize the oral exercise, and the pupils 
should copy them into their exercise books. 

To facilitate the acquisition of ideas and words by the 
young pupils, the different exercises which have been 
specified in connection with language training, might 



LANGUAGE. 1 79 

also be made use of. Before writing letters and de- 
scriptions, the pupils must be able to compose detached 
sentences with correctness and variety. 

For composition proper, answers should be given 
orally to three or four questions relating to the same 
subject. The questions may be written on the black- 
board and numbered, and also their corresponding an- 
swers. These answers are then copied by the chil- 
dren: this constitutes their composition.^ 

The subject might be a very short letter; a story told 
by the teacher, and repeated several times by the pupils; 
the description of a very familiar object, or an event in 
their school life, etc. The following exercise may be 
taken as a sample of work suitable for this division. 

Questions. 

1. Did you ever see a poor blind man? Where? 

2. What was his appearance ? Was he alone ? What 
did he say? 

3 . Were you kind to him ? What did you give him ? 
These questions may be written on the left side of the 

black-board, and answered as indicated above. ^ 

Lower grammar. All the resources above mentioned 
for the acquisition of ideas and words, and for the de- 
velopment of the faculty of observation, should still be 
utilized: reading lessons, exercises in language study, 
and object lessons. In addition, it will be well to give 
frequent practice in very short compositions of a simple 
kind, such as stories, letters, and interesting subjects in 
science or history. 

Narratives. The teacher selects some event familiar 
to the pupils. He relates it, and asks questions to make 
sure that it has been understood. Then he writes a 

1 If the composition is to be copied from the black-board, it would be 
advisable to erase some of the words, or to leave only their initial letters, 
so as to exercise the intelligence of the pupils. 

2 The answers to the groups of questions in each number might be put 
in separate paragraphs. 



l8o ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

summary of the principal ideas on the black-board. This 
summary should be developed orally by the class, before 
the written work is attempted. For this purpose, the 
teacher asks a few of the most inteUigent pupils to de- 
velop the first of the ideas contained in the plan. He 
then selects the best answer, completes and corrects it, 
supplying if necessary the proper word or the correct 
expression, and gets some one to repeat it. The second 
and the third ideas are similarly developed; then the 
pupils write their composition, devoting a separate para- 
graph to the development of each of the points in the out- 
line. By thus simpHfying the work, the children ac- 
quire a taste for this kind of exercise, and the correction 
of it becomes less laborious. 

Letters. The pupils of the lower grammar should get 
frequent practice in the composition of short letters; 
family correspondence for Christmas, birthdays, letters 
of sympathy and condolence; an account of a short jour- 
ney, letters to friends, descriptions of local events or in- 
cidents in school life. These might be prepared oral- 
ly, and the outlines written on the black-board. The 
teacher should instruct the pupils in the different forms 
of address at the beginning and end of letters. From 
time to time the exercises ought to be done as if for the 
mail, written on note-paper, and enclosed in sealed and 
addressed envelopes. 

Subjects of scientific or historic interest. These com- 
positions demand greater intellectual effort from the 
pupils than simple narratives. They require to be more 
thoroughly prepared than others, or they will be very 
badly explained. For example, if a teacher choose as 
the subject of composition the Mariner's Compass, and 
merely give the two chief headings: description a,nd use^ 
it is quite certain that these indications will be insuffi- 
cient for the pupils. The work would be much more 
agreeable and more advantageous if it were prepared by 
showing a compass to the children and enumerating its 
different parts. Two or three pupils in succession then 



LANGUAGE. l8l 

give the oral description required, and one is sent to the 
black-board to write it in a few hnes. The teacher then 
invites the criticism of the other pupils. One may say, 
perhaps, that the same words have been repeated too 
frequently; another, that conjunctions are employed too 
often; a third, that the punctuation is incorrect, and 
either destroys the sense or makes it equivocal. The 
teacher should direct this criticism himself, and make it 
bear, in the first place, on the correctness of the thoughts 
expressed, then on the construction of the sentences, and 
lastly on the propriety of terms and equivalent expres- 
sions. He will select the best sentences given by the 
pupils to express the same idea, and will state the reason 
for his selection. He must frequently question in or- 
der to promote reflection. He ought to praise pupils 
who have been particularly successful in answering, and 
to explain the difficulties experienced by the others. The 
original production on the black-board should not be 
effaced; the defective parts are condemned, and the 
corrections written above them. When the work is 
sufficiently correct, it is read aloud, and then erased. 
Afterward the pupils reproduce from memory, in their 
copybooks, the developments of this first part. 

This collective work has the greatest advantages, and 
insures rapid progress. It extends over only a few sen- 
tences and lasts about half an hour; but it is far more 
profitable to the pupils than a much longer exercise in 
which they would be left to their own devices. 

The second part of the subject: the use of the compass, 
should be prepared in the same way at another lesson, 
after which the children should write the whole subject. 
The correction will be neither long nor complicated, and 
this is one of the great advantages of the process. 

The subject for composition may be sometimes pro- 
posed to this division in the following way: by questions 
the teacher gets the pupils to express their ideas on a 
subject; the plan is established during the questioning; 
it is written on the board, and copied by the pupils at the 
head of their exercise; the questions are answered orally. 



l82 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

but the answers are not written on the board. The sub- 
ject — hay-making — may be developed in this way. 

Questions (for rural schools) . 

1. What is hay? How is it produced? Do you like 
hay-making? Why? 

2. At what time of the year is hay made? Was this 
year favorable for hay-making? 

3 . Was the produce abundant ? Why does the farmer 
like an abundant crop of hay? 

Higher grammar grades. As in the other divisions, 
instruction in composition includes preparatory exer- 
cises as well as composition proper. 

Preparatory exercises, i. Varied exercises in lexi- 
cology and phraseology, such as making suitable state- 
ments about subjects, the invention and transposition of 
propositions or sentences, paraphrasing verse into prose, 
summaries of reading lessons, etc. 

2. The explanation, study, and application of the gen- 
eral rules relating to composition and style. 

3. The reading, accompanied by explanations, of ex- 
tracts from the best authors; Socratic questions being 
employed to lead the pupils to observe the ideas or in- 
vention, the order followed by the writer, or arrangement, 
the expressions made use of, or diction. 

4. Readings in class by the teacher. In the higher 
classes it would be useful for the teacher once or twice 
each week, for a half-hour, to give a reading followed by 
a brief commentary. This exercise develops in pupils 
a taste for useful reading, increases the number of their 
ideas, and enriches their vocabulary. It would suggest 
moral ideas, and introduce variety into the lessons. 
These readings should be instructive and interesting, 
unquestionable in style, and expressive in sentiment. 
They might be reproduced orally by a few pupils, and 
sometimes followed by a written summary. 

Subjects for compositions. The principal subjects for 



LANGUAGE. 1 83 

this division are historical narratives, familiar stories, 
descriptions, letters, and the development of ideas re- 
lating to morals. These different kinds of composi- 
tions should form part of the monthly division of the 
programme, and the principles relating to each kind 
should be explained. It is particularly recommended 
to include letters, descriptions, and subjects connected 
with school life, the customs and industries of the coun- 
try, the events of the time, the scenery of the neighbor- 
hood, the celebrities of the state, etc. This is an ex- 
cellent means for leading the pupils to express their ideas 
with ease and simplicity. 

From time to time, the subject might be prepared by 
the oral development of the ideas contained in the out- 
line of a composition. At least the plan suggested by 
the teacher should be always worked out with the aid 
of the children, by an oral and collective preparation. 
Sometimes it is advisable to make known, a day or two 
beforehand, the subject of composition: the pupils will 
have time to think about it and to elaborate their plan of 
treatment. The comparison between this plan and that 
which is afterward worked out in class will excite curi- 
osity, exercise judgment, and give a personal charac- 
teristic to the compositions. 

In this division the plan may also be established by 
each pupil in particular during the oral preparation. The 
teacher proposes a series of questions, to each of which 
an oral answer is given; some answers are admitted as 
being correct, others rejected as defective. The pupils 
build up their plans by choosing for each idea one of the 
correct answers. This procedure gives more room to 
the initiative of the pupil than that which consists in de- 
veloping a plan imposed on the whole class. However, 
even with a common plan, it is possible to introduce 
great variety into the development. 

Specimen Plan. 

Letter to a friend describing an excursion to an old 
fort. 



184 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Introduction. Why I send this description. 

Narrative, i. Appearance of the ruin: where situated, 
state of preservation, appearance in times past. 

2. Historical associations: battles fought; traditions 
of the place, etc. 

Conclusion. Request to friend to describe his visit 
to 

Correction of compositions. The correction of com- 
positions includes: individual correction, class criticism, 
and collective correction. The individual correction re- 
quires much time; additions, suppressions, and correc- 
tions have to be made, without counting the more or less 
numerous marginal annotations necessary. This work 
can be simplified: (i) By making good collective prepar- 
ation of the subject, and thus diminishing the number of 
mistakes liable to be made; (2) by correcting methodi- 
cally, that is, making the corrections bear principally on 
two or three defects, which should be followed up in all 
the copies for some weeks; (3) by devoting sufficient 
time to the general or collective correction. 

The class criticism on the exercises in composition is 
indispensable. It consists in reading some special pas- 
sages marked beforehand, either because the reading of 
them will be a matter of general interest, or because they 
may serve as models, or afford an opportunity of making 
remarks on style, useful to the whole class. From time 
to time, an entire composition, chosen from among the 
best, might be read through and criticised. 

The general correction is an exercise most conducive 
to rapid progress in composition, and it possesses the 
great advantage of rousing the intellectual activity of the 
whole class. When correcting the exercises, the teacher 
marks some defective sentences; after the class criticism, 
he sends a pupil to the black-board, dictates one of these 
sentences to him, and then asks the class to point out the 
mistakes. These being pointed out, all the pupils try to 
write the sentence correctly in their own books. The 



LANGUAGE. 185 

teacher asks some of them to read aloud the result of 
their work; he adopts the best, modifies it a little, if 
necessary, and dictates it to the whole class. In this 
way he corrects the three or four sentences which are 
the object of the exercise. 

Simultaneous composition and correction. In the 

lower and the higher grammar grades, the following proc- 
ess may sometimes be employed: 

1. The work of invention. The teacher proposes the 
subject of composition, and with the aid of the whole 
class, thinks out the principal ideas connected with it. 
AH the ideas given by the pupils and accepted by the 
teacher are summarized on the black-board, each by 
one word. 

2. Work of arrangement. The figures i, 2, 3 are 
marked under the words expressing the ideas to be de- 
veloped in the first, second, and third sentences, respec- 
tively, and any ideas expressed twice are suppressed. 
The teacher then coordinates the ideas in a very short 
plan, and dictates it to the pupils. 

3. Style, or expression. The black-board and the ex- 
ercise books are divided into two columns by a vertical 
line. The teacher may suggest the development of the 
first idea; then each pupil writes his own development, 
first roughly on a fly-leaf, and then carefully in the left 
column of the exercise book. The teacher gets some of 
the pupils to read aloud what they have composed; he 
writes one of the best productions on the board, and with 
the aid of the class criticises and corrects it. The sen- 
tence thus modified is rewritten by the teacher and 
pupils, in the right-hand columns of the board and exer- 
cise books. The other ideas of the plan are worked out 
in the same way. 

VI.— Study of Selected Extracts. 

The study of simple and carefully selected poems is 
very useful for children. It elevates their minds, helps 



l86 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

to form their taste, gives them deHcate and ennobling 
ideas, and thus becomes a species of moral education. 

Choice of extracts. The pieces for recitation should 
conform to the following conditions £ 

1. That they be irreproachable in ideas and form of 
expression. 

2. That the ideas be conducive to the general educa- 
tion of the children. 

3. That they be not above the mental capacity of 
those who learn them. 

It is easier to make children learn poetry than prose: 
they learn it more quickly, and the language is generally 
easier and more varied. The study of selected extracts 
should include preparatory explanations, exercises on the 
words, and recitation. 

Preparatory classes. With very young children the 
preparatory explanation is a talk on the subject. The 
lesson is studied by the auditory process, and verse by 
verse, if the sense permits. The teacher says the first 
part of a poem — one or two verses, with suitable inflec- 
tions; it is then repeated by all simultaneously, then by 
two or three singly, and lastly by selected groups. It is 
thus continued till the poem is known. 

Primary grades. In this division the study is done 
both by hearing and reading. The poem is divided 
into several parts, one of which is sufficient for each 
lesson; but before studying any of these portions, a gen- 
eral idea of the whole poem should be given. Each part 
might include one or two stanzas, which are first ex- 
plained, and then repeated with inflections and pauses 
by the teacher. The repetition, Hne by Hne, is first col- 
lective, then individual. The utterance should be slow, 
the pauses sufficient, the inflections natural, and the 
same passage must be repeated till a satisfactory result 
is obtained. 

Lower and higher grammar grades. In these grades 
the teacher might proceed on the following lines: 



LANGUAGE. 187 

1. Reading of the piece to give a general notion of 
the ideas and sentiments contained in it. 

2. Explanation of the text, as in an ordinary reading 
lesson. 

3. Pattern reading in which the teacher, by inflections 
and pauses, makes the important words stand out, and 
the meaning clear. He should, briefly and simply, 
give reasons for the different intonations, pauses, and 
inflections; and tell why certain words should be de- 
tached and emphasized. 

4. Repetition of the poem or selection by several 
pupils, until the delivery is correct, natural, and expres- 
sive. 

5. Simple and graceful gestures might be taught, 
after the literal study and the recitation of the poem. 

Explanation of extracts. Extracts for recitation 
should be explained to the pupils. In the primary 
grades the explanation bears on words chiefly. In the 
lower and the higher grammar grades, the ideas, their 
connection, and the way in which they are expressed 
should be attended to. 

Primary grades. The ideas, the words, and the mode 
of expression in the poems to be committed to memory 
by primary grade pupils, should be explained before- 
hand. This may be done in the following way: 

1. Reading by the teacher. He employs the proper 
intonation, in order to make the pupils understand what 
the bare mechanical reading would not sufficiently bring 
out. 

2. A talk with the pupils in order to elicit the principal 
and the secondary ideas. 

3. Reading by the pupils. 

4. Questions on the words and ideas. 



l88 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

SPECIMEN EXPLANATION OF THE POEM 
LIFE THAT IS FELT. 

A tender child of summers three, 

Seeking her Httle bed at night, 
Paused on the dark stair timidly. 
"Oh, mother! Take my hand," said she, 

"And then the dark will all be hght." 

We, older children, grope our way 

From dark behind and dark before; 
And only when our hands we lay. 
Dear Lord, in Thine, the night is day 

And there is darkness nevermore. 

Reach downward to the sunless days 

Wherein our guides are bhnd as we, 
And faith is small and home delays. 
Take Thou the hands of prayer we raise, 

And let us feel the light of Thee! 

—J. G, Wh Utter. 

Leading idea. Who is spoken of in this poem, and in 
what connection? 

Questions on the secondary ideas. Where was the 
little child going? When was the little child going to 
bed? Why did she stand on the stairs? Whom did she 
call, and in what words? etc. 

Research of the moral lesson. Why should children 
love their parents? What should be thought of a child 
who would mock his parents? Whom does a child call 
when exposed to danger? Whom should all people, 
young and old, call on in danger? etc. 

Explanation of words and phrases. Summers three, 
paused, timidly, dark stair, grope, sunless days, hands of 
prayer. 

A few pupils are questioned on the subject-matter of the 
poem; then the teacher calls attention to the pauses, the 
emphatic words, the modulations required, and does this 
by reading the poem properly, and not by long expla- 
nations, which would be useless for young pupils. 



LANGUAGE. 1 89 

Lower and higher grammar grades. With pupils of 
these divisions the explanation of a poem should begin 
by an analytical summary. For instance, if the teacher 
wishes to explain a fable, he might ask what personages 
appear on the scene, in what place, what are their ac- 
tions, their words. These questions might be written on 
the black-board; or at least an order analogous to that 
indicated below should be followed in the explanation. 
The fable of The Butterfly and the Snail may be taken as 
an example. 

All upstarts, insolent in place, 
Remind us of their vulgar race. 
As in the sunshine of the morn 
A Butterfly (but newly born), 
5. Sat proudly perking on a rose, 
With pert conceit his bosom glows; 



It. His now-forgotten friend, a Snail, 
Beneath his house, with slimy trail 
Crawls o'er the grass, whom when he spies, 
In wrath he to the gardener cries, 

15. "What means yon peasant's daily toil. 
From choking weeds to rid the soil? 



Why grows the peach with crimson hue? 

20. And why the plum's inviting blue? 
Were they to feed his taste designed, 
That vermin of voracious kind? 
Crush then the slow, the pilfering race, 
So purge thy garden from disgrace." 

25. "What arrogance!" the Snail replied; 
"How insolent is upstart pride! 
Hadst thou not thus, with insult vain, 
Provoked my patience to complain, 
I had concealed thy meaner birth, 

30. Nor traced thee to the scum of earth: 

For scarce nine suns have waked the hours, 
To swell the fruit and paint the flowers, 
Since I thy humbler life surveyed, 
In base, in sordid guise arrayed; 



I own my humble life, ^ood friend; 
40. Snail wasT born, and Snail shall end. 



ipo 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



And, what's a butterfly at best, 

He's but a caterpillar drest; 

And all thy race a numerous seed 

Shall prove of caterpillar breed." j, ^ 



r Moral. 
Exposition, 



The first two lines. 
TThe 



Personages - 



■Plan < 



Intrigue 

(15-38). 



butterfly 
(4-10). 
The snail (11- 

13)- 
Circumstances of the narrative. 

The butterfly's 
address to the 
gardener (15- 
22). 

Destruction of 
the snail ad- 
vised (23-24). 
'The snail's an- 
swer to but- 
terfly (25-30). 

The snail's con- 
tempt for but- 
terfly (31-38). 



I St episode 
(15-24)- 



2d episode 

(25-38). 



Conclusion. Repetition of the moral (39-44). 



II. Study 6>/ ) ■ 

characters 1 

I 2. 

' I. 



III. — Study 
of details 



The butterfly, in this jahle: vain and 
envious. 

The snail: humble and indignant. 

Observations on the exactness of the 
ideas, which amounts to an appre- 
ciation of the conduct of the person- 
ages. 

2. Characteristic expressions. 

3. Explanation of words and phrases. 

4. Remarks on some points of grammar. 

5. Remarks on the style: the teacher 

should explain from this fable what 
is meant by style, direct narration, 
kinds of rhyme, etc. 



OBJECT LESSONS AND ELEMENTARY SCIENCE. 19I 

CHAPTER V. 

OBJECT LESSONS AND ELEMENTARY SCIENCE. 

Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Natural science and ob- 
ject lesson are dependent on observation; hence they call 
into activity sight, imagination, judgment, and reasoning. 
Creation, being the work of God, is impressed with the 
stamp of His beauty, and speaks of Him to the heart, and 
especially to the religious sentiment. These lessons also 
train the cesthetic sense, and the power of correct expres- 
sion. 

Principle to be followed. Lessons should be taught 
intuitively. 

II. — General Suggestions on Object Lessons. 

Object lessons are familiar conversations on natural 
objects, or objects represented by pictures; they form 
the earliest introduction to the study of the experimental 

sciences. 

Two steps in this teaching. Object lessons may be 
considered from two points of view, according to the 
subjects and to the method of treating them. If the 
teacher confine himself to simple conversations about 
familiar objects, and avoid all scientific expressions, he 
gives an object lesson. If, while still employing the con- 
versational method, he gives in an experimental form a 
certain amount of scientific information, he gives a lesson 
on elementary science. 

For instance, if the teacher, showing a piece of bread 
to the children, asks them what bread is made of, shows 
them some flour, and grains of wheat; and by a series of 
questions, leads them to understand and tell how bread 
is made: or again, if he shows a piece of chocolate, a 



192 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

lump of sugar, and a specimen of cocoa, and without 
going into many details of manufacture, which would be 
suitable only for more advanced children, gives them a 
general idea of what chocolate is: he teaches object les- 
sons on bread and chocolate. 

To give more advanced pupils a practical knowledge 
of the thermometer, for instance, some elementary ex- 
periments are performed; these are followed by a de- 
scription of the instrument, of its working and use, and 
an explanation of the principle on which it is based. 

Subjects. Processes. The subjects for object lessons 
and elementary science are taken from the three king- 
doms of nature, and from objects in every-day use. The 
lessons can thus be very varied and always lively and in- 
teresting. 

In these lessons the intuitive processes of instruction 
should be employed. They consist in showing the pupils 
the objects which form the matter of the lesson; and in 
the simple experiments which illustrate the properties of 
things. In most cases there is no difficulty in procuring 
the objects required: articles of food, different metals, 
specimens of w^ood, plants, grains, and industrial prod- 
ucts. All the objects required might be kept in the 
school museum. There are many simple and ingenious 
means of giving intuitive and experimental instruction 
in elementary science, without being obliged to use very 
costly materials. 

In order to impress the lesson well on the pupils' 
minds, they may be obliged to write a summary of it; 
this summary may serve as the subject of a composition. 
The pupils of the primary grades may copy from the 
board, words or short propositions summarizing the in- 
structions that have been given. In the other divisions, 
a fuller summary may be dictated. 

Preparation. Educational results. Object lessons 
require careful preparation on the part of the teacher. 
Not only should he know his subject well, but he must 
also determine the most suitable points to develop. The 



OBJECT LESSONS AND ELEMENTARY SCIENCE. 1 93 

best way to be clear and practical is to circumscribe the 
subject, by eliminating anything that appears unneces- 
sary or well known to the pupils. He should limit his 
explanations, and not wander from the subject by giv- 
ing useless details. Thus, a teacher giving a lesson on 
combustibles, has before him specimens of coal, coke, 
anthracite, peat, etc. ; he tells the origin of each, its pecul- 
iar qualities, and advantages. But if, in speaking of 
coal, he tries to tell something about gas, or tar and its 
different products, he will only confuse the minds of the 
children. 

The results to be aimed at in object lessons and sci- 
ence teaching are, the education of the senses, the de- 
velopment of the faculty of observation, and the power 
to ascertain facts and discover their causes. These les- 
sons are also a means of acquiring knowledge very use- 
ful in practical life. In giving the instruction the teacher 
might occasionally, by a few suitable reflections, raise 
the minds of the children to God, who created all things, 
and preserves them for the use of man. 

III. — Method of Conducting an Object Lesson. 

An object lesson may be given in the following man- 
ner: 

1. Questions are asked on the previous lesson, partic- 
ularly if it has any connection with the one about to be 
given. 

2. The object and its parts are shown, and the 
pupils are asked to name them, to tell their nature and 
uses. 

3. Having aroused interest, the teacher gives the les- 
son in the form of an explanation. 

4. Questions are proposed on the matter gone over. 

5. A recapitulation of the lesson is made, and if the 
pupils have not a text-book, a summary, to be learned by 
heart, is dictated to them. 

6. A written exercise relating to the lesson is pre- 
scribed. 



194 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Lesson on a Potato (primary grades). 

1. A potato is shown, and the pupils are asked to 
which kingdom of nature it belongs; whether they have 
ever seen potatoes dug up, and what they noticed in the 
stem, the tubers, etc. They are questioned briefly on 
the different uses of the potato. 

2. The teacher gives the lesson according to his pre- 
pared plan: 

(a) Nature of the potato; by whom it was discovered. 

(b) Parts of the plant: stem, leaves, roots, and tubers. 

(c) Uses of the potato: food, alcohol, starch. 

(d) Questions and recapitulations. 

Lesson on a Balance (lower grammar grades). 

A balance being placed before the class, the teacher 
questions as follows: 

I. The instrument examined. What is the name of 
this instrument? 

Where have you seen instruments like it? 

Of what substance were they made? 

Press on end of beam: What is the oscillating part 
called? (Beam, arm, lever.) 

On what does the beam rest? (On the beam-stand.) 

What do you observe attached to each arm of the 
balance? 

What happens when some weight is placed in one of 
the pans? (Place a penny in pan.) 

And what occurs to the other pan? 

What do you call that property of the pans by which 
they rise and fall in this way? (Mobility.) 

Is the beam-stand of the balance movable? 

Look: What do you notice attached to the centre of 
the beam ? (A triangular prism, called a knife-edge.) 

Summary. A balance is an instrument consisting of a 
fixed support called the lever which oscillates about the 
knife-edge, and bears a pan at each end. 



OBJECT LESSONS AND ELEMENTARY SCIENCE. I95 

II. Study of its parts. Look: I barely touched the 
beam; what did you remark? 

Do you know the name given to a balance which moves 
by adding a little weight? (A sensitive balance.) 

I take away both pans, in what position is the beam 
now? (Horizontal and at rest.) 

What is its position now that both pans are again sus- 
pended? Give me another expression for at rest more 
suitable for the balance. (The balance is in equilib- 
rium.) 

I place a weight of a cent in each pan: how does the 
beam act? 

What name is given to a balance which fulfils these 
conditions? (An accurate or true balance.) 

Summary. The lever or beam rests on a triangular 
prism, called a knife-edge. It remains in equilibrium 
when the pans are empty, or when they carry equal 
weights. Then the balance is said to be true or ac- 
curate. 

III. Experiments, i. Here are weights and some 
sand: weigh an ounce of sand. 

2. Weights, a glass, and a jug of water: weigh in the 
glass an ounce of water. 

3. Weight of a book? 

4. Equilibrate sand by two ounces; take away the two 
ounces and restore equilibrium. 

Moral reflection: Are there false balances? false 
weights ? 

Lesson on Air (higher grammar grades). 

1. Some questions, but not many, are asked on what 
the children may already know, concerning the existence 
and the functions of air. 

2. The greater part of the time should be devoted to 
the lesson, which may be given in the following manner: 

{a) Existence of air. Shown by a few experiments: 



196 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

1. Resistance felt when a glass is immersed in water, 
mouth downward. 

2. Escape of bubbles of air when the glass is slightly 
inclined in the water. 

3. A little sugar is fixed with wax in the bottom of a 
glass. The glass is plunged vertically, mouth down- 
ward, in water. The compressed air in the glass pre- 
vents the water from rising to the sugar. 

4. A strip of paper is gummed to the inside surface 
of a glass. The height to which the water will rise, 
when the glass is vertically immersed in it, can be seen 
from the part of the paper which gets wet. 

(b) Composition of air. Shown by experiments: 

1. The air is composed of two gases, one of which 
helps combustion. A cork bearing a lighted candle is 
placed on the water; an inverted glass kept at the level 
of the water, covers the candle: the candle burns, then 
goes out, and the water rises. Reason is given. 

2. A graduated test-tube is substituted for the glass. 
Proportion of oxygen to nitrogen is found to be as one 
to four. 

(c) Substances contained in the air. Carbonic-acid 
gas and watery vapor; their source should be indicated. 
Dust, living organisms, microbes. 

(d) Uses of the air. It is indispensable to animals, to 
plants, and to combustion. 

IV. — Adaptation of Object Lessons. 

Adaptation of the same subject to the three divisions. 

Object lessons on the same subject may be given to the 
primary, lower, and higher grammar grades, the lessons 
being more or less complete according to the division. 
The teacher must always bear in mind, even when ad- 
dressing the higher grades, that these lessons should be 
quite distinct from purely scientific theories. For in- 
stance, if a teacher wishes to speak of the phenomenon of 



OBJECT LESSONS AND ELEMENTARY SCIENCE. I97 

expansion, he must not give a dissertation on the coef- 
ficients of expansion. The phenomenon of expansion 
being established by experiments, the principal indus- 
trial applications of it ought to be described. 

In the same way if a lesson is given on iron, care should 
be taken not to ask questions in chemistry bearing on the 
metallurgy of iron, and the manufacture of steel; but 
after a short explanation of the treatment of the ore, the 
properties and uses of iron should, be elicited and stated. 
A lesson on iron might be adapted to the three divisions 
in the following way: 

Primary grades. Pieces of iron, cast-iron, and iron 
ore are placed before the children. An engraving rep- 
resenting the interior of a mine would also be very use- 
ful. The teacher tells the children that iron is contained 
in the ore, and when this is subjected to the action of in- 
tense heat the metal melts and flows; this is the casting. 
He names, or has named, some objects made of cast- 
iron. He calls attention to the fact that this first prod- 
uct contains a little charcoal, which makes it brittle; 
that it is again melted, and that during the fusion the 
wind of large blowing machines burns away the charcoal, 
and thus transforms it into true iron, called wrought iron. 

Lower grammar grades. Some details may be added 
concerning the smelting of the ore in great furnaces. An 
engraving representing a section of one of these furnaces 
is almost indispensable; it might, however, be replaced 
to a certain extent, by a sketch on the board. The dis- 
tinctive characteristics and uses of gray and white cast- 
iron might be given in a few words. In connection with 
iron, the teacher might refer to sheet iron, tin, and gal- 
vanized iron. In speaking of steel, he should explain 
why it is harder and more brittle than iron; and the lesson 
concludes by showing some objects made of steel. 

Higher grammar grades. If the same lesson be given 
to the senior division, it might be expanded somewhat 
as follows: 



198 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

The teacher gives more detailed explanations on the 
metallurgy of iron, on the uses of cast-iron in industry, 
and on the conversion of the iron ore into iron. He 
might also give some information on the manufacture of 
steel, on tempering and its effects, and on the uses of 
different kinds of steel. He may mention the chemical 
compounds of iron, which are constantly required in 
medicine and industry. 

This lesson on iron is an example of concentric teach- 
ing ; the same lesson is given to the three divisions suc- 
cessively, with developments proportionate to the differ- 
ent ages of the pupils. But the lesson may also be given 
to the different divisions combined in one class; there 
would always be certain portions of the instruction 
within the mental reach of the very young pupils. 

Adaptation of lessons to local requirements. The 

choice of subjects ought to be made with a view to local 
requirements. For instance, a lesson on cereals should 
not be given to city children in the same manner as to 
country children. It would be sufficient for the former 
to observe the stems and the grain of wheat, barley, 
and oats; to learn their different qualities and uses; the 
proper time for sowing, reaping, and threshing. With 
country children the lesson may be treated in this way: 
they are shown different varieties of wheat, barley, and 
oats; the advantages and disadvantages of each are 
pointed out; certain kinds are specified as suiting the dis- 
trict, and details useful to cultivators are mentioned. 

The teacher should base his scheme of object lessons 
on the seasons, in order to be able to procure specimens 
of plants, fruits, and birds; and on the cultivation and 
industries of the district, to give the lessons a practical 
turn. Preserved specimens of many of the objects re- 
quired for these lessons should be kept in the school mu- 
seum. School excursions and journeys have the advan- 
tage of placing the children in presence of things about 
which they received lessons in school. 



HISTORY. 199 



CHAPTER VI. 

HISTORY. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. The object of history is to 
instruct man in the proper regulation of his life, and to 
preserve national traditions. The study of history re- 
quires the exercise of reason to grasp the logical relations 
of events; of memory to retain facts; of imagination and 
sentiment to realize circumstances of time and place; of 
conscience to estimate men and events in accordance 
with the prescriptions of Christian morality; of will in 
order to regulate our conduct according to the practical 
teachings of history, and to develop a love of country. 

Principles to be followed. The teaching should be: 

1. Picturesque and animated, by making use of poetic 
descriptions, biographical sketches, and direct narration. 

2. Rational, by showing causes and effects of events; 
the influence of character and human passions, etc. 

3. Moral and rehgious, by discovering the action of 
Providence in human events. 

4. Arranged so as to afford suitable exercises for the 
memory, aided by the imagination and the association of 
ideas. 

II. — Programme. 

A knowledge of history, sacred as well as profane, is 
required of all children in primary schools, in proportion 
to age and intellectual capacity. To make this study 
interesting and practical, too elaborate an account of 
ancient times should not be given, but more attention 
must be devoted to modern and contemporary history. 

Preparatory classes. In this division the teaching 
should be restricted to narratives about great heroes and 
important historical events. Anecdotes related by the 



200 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

teacher and repeated by the children are most suitable. 
Historical pictures are of great help in captivating and 
retaining attention. The engravings, which text-books 
for the young should always contain, are first explained; 
stories relative to the engravings will then interest the 
children and arouse their curiosity. 

Primary grades. In this division history comprises a 
general knowledge of important events and historical 
celebrities. An important incident, or an interesting 
biography, will help to distinguish the different periods, 
and explain their leading characteristics. Class-books 
for young pupils ought to be compiled on this plan. The 
illustrations and engravings should be explained, in or- 
der to give the pupils an accurate knowledge of the cus- 
toms, celebrities, and events about which they are read- 
ing. 

Lower grammar grades. In the middle division the 
course of the previous year is treated in a fuller and more 
exact manner. The information need not be very de- 
tailed; but the teacher should give connecting links, so 
that the pupils may realize the relationship of each fact 
to the general subject. The historical facts are made 
definite by means of geography and chronology. The 
pupils should look carefully at the maps and pictures 
given in the class-book. Only the most important dates 
need be committed to memory. 

Higher grammar grades. In the senior division the 
teacher gives a general view of the first part of the pro- 
gramme, and dwells on the events of the modern period. 
In the other divisions he pointed out only the event: now 
he must treat the subject more fully, stating causes and 
results, the influence of the events upon the people, and 
upon the growth of political institutions and adminis- 
trations. The children must be familiarized with the 
names and lives of the great men who have made the 
country illustrious, and with what they accomplished in 
the domains of science, literature, and art. 



HISTORY. 20 1 

History of the district. Pupils in the higher grammar 
grades should be taught the characteristic features of the 
history of their county or province, and the part it took in 
the national movements. 

III. — The History Lesson. 

Method of conducting the lesson, i. Questions on 
the preceding lesson, and on the part of the programme 
already studied, in so far as they bear on the lesson of 
the day. 

2. Concise explanation of the lesson of the day: atten- 
tion directed to the important events and personages; 
ideas grouped into a synoptical plan on the board; wall 
charts, geographical maps, and engravings, used when 
necessary. 

3. Explanation of the matter in the text-book. 

4. Recapitulation, and indication of the lesson to be 
learned, or the exercise to be written. 

Adaptation of the general method to the different 
divisions. The more advanced the pupils are, the more 
thorough the work ought to be; the facts dealt with 
should be more fully explained, and the pupils led to re- 
flect and pass judgment on the actions and events. 

Preparatory and primary grades. The teaching of 
history in these divisions should be by anecdotes, intui- 
tive and pictorial. The teacher must endeavor to make 
the children understand that people did not always 
live and act as they do to-day. This simple fact will 
be grasped by means of stories and explanations of 
pictures. 

The teacher relates the events in a lively conversa- 
tional way, interspersing his narrative with many ques- 
tions. The names of the leading characters, towns, cus- 
toms, etc., are written on the board, as they occur in the 
recital of the lesson; this tends to captivate attention. 
When the narrative is ended, the pupils are asked to re- 
peat it, first in parts, and then in its entirety. The lesson 



202 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

ends with a few questions, followed by an explanation of 
the matter in the text-book. 

Lower grammar grades. The lessons must never 
be an uninterrupted exposition of a subject; questions 
should be often asked, so as to excite the interest and in- 
tellectual activity of the pupils. Only the most impor- 
tant dates need be insisted on. After explaining the les- 
son in the book, the teacher reminds the pupils of the 
necessity of learning the summary word for word, and of 
reading several times the developments which accom- 
pany it, in order to be able to give an accurate account of 
the whole. 

Higher grammar grades. The lesson might be given 
in the form of a lecture — narrative, explanatory, and 
reasoned — broken up frequently by questions. In pre- 
paring his lesson, the teacher collects and combines all 
the different elements relating to the same subject, to 
give his pupils general ideas on the facts. He need not 
give detailed descriptions of military expeditions or bat- 
tles. The history lessons should treat mainly of the 
chief political transformations, the advance of civiliza- 
tion, social conditions, and rights. 

Use of a text-book. The pupils should have a good 
history text-book, that they may acquire definite and 
connected ideas about events. The text-books ought to 
correspond with the different grades; and be concentric, 
that is, more or less developed according as the book is 
intended for primary, lower, or higher grammar grades. 
Such books are invaluable to the teacher, but they do not 
reheve him of the obligation of teaching the lesson him- 
self. 

The text-book may be used in either of the two follow- 
ing ways: i. Having explained briefly the subject of 
the lesson, the teacher gets the pupils to read the portions 
which develop it. He explains obscure expressions, calls 
attention to events and celebrities, adds interesting de- 
tails, questions the pupils, and then gets them to continue 



HISTORY. 203 

the reading. When the lesson is finished, he questions 
on the matter explained, and points out the portions to 
be committed to memory. According to this method, 
the teacher gives only a very concise development of the 
subject, explains the terms used in the book, and adds 
some supplementary details. 

2. The second method is to use the text-book only 
after the oral lesson and the questions of review follow- 
ing it. The text is read, and any expressions which the 
pupils do not understand are explained. The study and 
reading of a text-book do not constitute a lesson; they 
play but a secondary part in the teaching of history. 
Oral teaching is absolutely necessary. 

Use of maps. Whichever method be followed in giv- 
ing instruction in history, recourse must always be had to 
historical maps, or if these are not available, to geograph- 
ical maps, in order to point out the towns and states 
forming the theatre of war, the provinces annexed or 
given up by treaties, and the geographical features, 
mountains, rivers, etc., that served as obstacles or helps 
to armies in campaign. If the geographical maps are too 
complicated, the teacher might draw, or have a pupil 
draw, a sketch-map on the black-board, and indicate 
thereon the leading features relating to the lesson of the 
day. Such an outline is clearer and more attractive for 
children. This preparation will take time, and may in- 
terfere with the supervision of the class; however, such 
inconveniences can be avoided, by preparing outside of 
class a very simple sketch, which an intelligent pupil can 
reproduce c^n a large scale on the black-board. Good 
text-books, especially those intended for the lower and 
higher grammar grades, should contain maps relating to 
the different periods of national history, and the children 
must be taught how to make use of them during study. 

Recapitulations and reviews. If the teacher wishes 
to impress facts on the pupils' minds, he must have very 
frequent recapitulations. It is easier to retain what has 
once been learned than to recommence learning it anew. 



204 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

At the beginning of each lesson, therefore, the teacher 
ought to question the pupils upon the subject-matter of 
the previous lesson; and occasionally on portions of the 
programme already studied. Sometimes the lesson may 
be devoted to a review of all the facts having the same 
cause, such as a long war, the work of some official or 
President, etc. A synoptical table, drawn up with the 
assistance of the pupils, and showing at a glance the de- 
tails of an important episode, would be a great aid to the 
teacher. 

Use of history for moral education. In the history of 
every nation there are glorious pages which ought to be 
singled out by the teacher. The examples of patriotism 
afforded in every age by the defenders of the soil, the 
great men, and the national saints, teach new generations 
to remember with gratitude such illustrious heroes. The 
pages of a nation's annals also contain various examples 
which may be useful in inculcating moral lessons. To 
the student history affords many more teachings. It 
shows how countries the most advanced in civihzation 
have fallen, by giving up the worship of the true God; 
how others have become civilized through the influence 
of the Catholic Church; and how Jesus Christ is the cen- 
tral figure of humanity. It makes him grasp this two- 
fold truth, that the religious question sways the daily life 
of each individual, as well as the greatest events in the 
world; and that the divine plan is realized in every na- 
tion without infringing on the domain of man's free will. 
Such high lessons must be brought within the intelli- 
gence of the pupils. 

IV.— Plans for Notes. 

The particular form to be given to the plan or notes of 
a history lesson will vary according to the subject treat- 
ed, the intelligence of the pupils, and the length of the 
lesson. Hence only general directions can be given. 



HISTORY. 205 

Plan oj a Lesson on a War. 

{a) Causes of the war. 

{h) Forces of the belligerent powers. Alliances, and 
short account of the negotiations which brought them 
about. 

{c) Narrative of the military operations, without going 
into details either about the campaign as a whole or par- 
ticular battles. 

{d) Treaty of peace. Consequences of the war for the 
powers engaged. 

Lesson on the Work of a Secretary oj State. 

(a) Position of affairs when he took office. 

(b) The man ; his character and abilities; how he was 
prepared for his work. 

(c) The work ; examined from its various aspects; the 
results obtained by this Secretary of State in each of the 
great offices which he directed. His principal assistants. 

{d) Estimate of his character and the influence he 
exercised. 

Unity of the lessons. The main facts connected logi- 
cally with a certain event, or having the same cause, 
should be presented in the same lesson. It may be 
necessary to return later on and develop certain points. 
Thus, to give a general view of the war of the American 
Revolution, proceed as follows: 

PLAN IN TEACHING. 
War of the American Revolution. 

(Eighteenth Century.) 
' New king — taxes on colonies without their 



Causes 



consent — cutting off our trade with 
all parts of the world — taking away our 
charters — Boston massacre, etc. 



2o6 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



Assemblies 



Events be- 
fore the Dec- 
laration 



Declaration 
oj War 



Events after 
Declaration 



Prominent 
Men 



Virginia convention, ''Give me liberty or 
give me death" — First Continental Con- 
gress — Philadelphia, 1774 — " Minute 
Men" — Second Continental Congress — 
Philadelphia, 1775. 

' Washington appointed Commander-in- 
chief of our armies — Lexington — Con- 
cord — Bunker Hill — Ticonderoga — 
Boston evacuated by the British. 

Philadelphia, 1776 — Richard H. Lee 
moved "that the United Colonies are 
and of right ought to be free and inde- 
pendent States" (Adopted by the Con- 
vention) — Signers, fifty-six — John Han- 
cock, President. 

Long Island:»-Trenton — Princeton — Ben- 
nington — Valley Forge — Saratoga — 
" Bonhomme Richard"— " Alliance"— 
Surrender of Burgoyne — Arnold's Trea- 
son — Greene's victories in the South — 
Stony Point — Surrender of Cornwallis. 

George Washington — Patrick Henry — 
Benjamin Franklin — John Hancock — 
Robert Morris — Thomas Jefferson — 
Lafayette — Rochambeau — Kosciusko 
— Pulaski — Sullivan — Barry — Carroll 
1^ —Wayne— O'Briens— DeKalb. 



Assistance ") 

from foreign >■ France and Spain. 

Countries ) 



In what way? 



Results. 



{Treaty of Peace — Signed at Paris, 1783 — 
treaty secured to us about 800,000 
square miles of territory and the respect 
of the entire world — a new era. 



Summary. . 



Note. 



HISTORY. 207 

The above may be modified to suit the classes taught. 
Sketches and location of important events, viz., bat- 
tles, routes of armies, etc. 

To make history more interesting, anecdotes, stories, 
incidents of noted men and places mentioned should be 
told to the children. Thus they will easily remember the 
lessons given by the teacher. 

V. — Civil Government. 

History should not be limited to the narration of na- 
tional events: pupils must be instructed in their duties 
and rights as members of the nation. When the consti- 
tution of a country allows all the citizens to take part, 
within certain limits, in public affairs, the children ought 
to know how the powers are organized, how the admin- 
istrative functions are performed, the meaning of the 
right of voting, the duties of electors, etc. 

The lessons in civil government may consist of state- 
ments and explanations; but teachers should avoid criti- 
cising the constitution and laws of the country. The 
method of teaching is similar to that employed for 
history, but more time is devoted to Socratic question- 
ing. As far as possible, the instruction should be given 
in the concrete form; hence the teacher would do well to 
collect different documents, such as tax papers, licenses, 
rate papers, voting papers, etc., and preserve them in the 
museum. This instruction, being connected with his- 
tory by the study of national institutions, and with politi- 
cal geography in what relates to the working of the differ- 
ent administrations, the teacher may give it during the 
history or the geography lesson. 



208 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER VII. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Geography may be de- 
scriptive, scientific, or historical. As a science it exer- 
cises reason and attention; and as a descriptive science, 
imagination and the sense of sight. Memory retains the 
acquired notions. Map drawing trains the eye and hand. 
The simultaneous exercise of these faculties concurs in 
the formation of the will by the development of religious, 
patriotic, and humane sentiments. 

Principles to be followed. The teaching of geography 
should be made: 

1. Intuitive, i.e., definitions, terms, etc., used in geog- 
raphy should be explained by reference to the local 
landscape, and to botanical and geological specimens. 

2. Rational, by the use of induction, deduction, and 
analogy: explaining the origin of deltas, deserts, and the 
course of rivers, and why certain industries are carried on 
in certain places; comparing the physical, political, and 
industrial conditions of other countries with those of our 
own, etc. 

3. Practical, by accustoming pupils to draw sketches 
bearing on each lesson, examining memory lessons from 
a black-board sketch, to be filled in as the recitation pro- 
ceeds. 

4. Interesting, by arousing the curiosity of the chil- 
dren in sciences which bear on geography — geology, 
meteorology, botany. Hence the utility of excursions 
to factories, parks, caves, etc. 

5. Moral and patriotic, by referring to the order of the 
universe and to national history. 



GEOGRAPHY. 209 

II.— Suggestions Concerning the Method of Teaching 
Geography. 

The lesson. Good teaching in geography is charac- 
terized by frequent Socratic questioning, and by the con- 
tinual use of intuitive or concrete methods. The method 
of conducting the lesson will vary according to the sub- 
ject: the orography or hydrography of a region, natu- 
ral scenery and phenomena, political geography, etc. 
Excepting the modifications necessary in the primary 
grades, the following method may be followed in teach- 
ing physical geography: 

1. Review of the preceding lesson. This is done by 
means of a skeleton map, or a sketch, if the pupils are 
able to draw on the board. 

2. Explanation of the lesson before a map.^ 

3. Questions on the subject of the lesson. 

4. Indication of portion of the text-book to be studied, 
and the map-drawing exercise to be done. 

The text-book, in the teaching of geography, is but 
of secondary importance; the teacher should prescribe 
nothing to be studied which he has not first explained, 
and, as far as possible, shown in the concrete. The 
exercise may consist in drawing a clean copy of the 
geographical sketches made during class, or a sketch 
which the pupil must make from his atlas according to 
prescribed conditions. 

Geographical apparatus consist of views and relief 
maps, terrestrial globes, wall maps (blank or filled in), 
illustrated text-books, atlases, and map tracing-books. 

Geographical pictures, views, and relief maps, serve as 
substitutes for the reality, and render the abstract no- 
tions concrete. They are very useful in making children 
realize geographical terms, the definitions of which are 
found in the text-book. Globes give a true idea of ter- 
restrial forms, and of the position countries occupy with 

1 If the lesson is on a county, of which there is a separate wall map, 
the teacher should also show the map of the State to which the county 
belongs. 



2IO ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

respect to one another; they are indispensable in explain- 
ing the poles, equator, longitude, latitude, ocean cur- 
rents, motion of the earth, etc. Wall maps, on which 
the various geographical features and places are marked, 
can be used when giving lessons, and the blank maps 
when examining. Atlases are Httle used during the oral 
lessons; they should be used by the pupils at study time, 
and when making a clean copy of the sketches drawn 
during the oral lesson. The map tracing-books are 
used for marking the physical features as the teacher 
points them out during the course of the lesson; or as 
exercises for completion during study, according to the 
directions of the teacher; or for reproduction, first at 
sight and afterward from memory. 

Map-drawing. The map sketches done by the pupils 
should fulfil the following conditions: 

1. To be very simple as to form and drawing, not over- 
charged with names, and contain nothing about which 
the pupil cannot say something. 

2. Never to be the countertracing of a map, nor a copy 
to the same scale. 

3. To be drawn, if possible, with colored crayons or 
inks. 

4. Drawing outline with a few details from memory. 

5. Modelling maps from clay, or papier-mache, or 
sand. 

Details and nomenclatures. The short time devoted 
to geography, and the necessity of giving pupils vivid 
impressions and exact ideas, compel the teacher to limit 
his explanations during class to characteristic details and 
indispensable nomenclajures. Those which appeal to 
the memory only, as, for instance, long lists of towns, 
rivers, etc., ought to be omitted. The teacher should 
point out on the map whatever places he is speaking of, 
give the necessary explanations concerning them, and 
send the pupils to a blank map for examinations and 
recitations. 



GEOGRAPHY. 211 

III. — Geography in the Different Divisions. 

Primary classes. The programme of the primary 
classes comprises the study of geographical terms. 
These terms should be explained by local examples, 
otherwise the children will find much difficulty in under- 
standing and remembering words which are new to them. 
It is not advisable to introduce abstract terms, such as 
latitude and longitude, when teaching very young chil- 
dren. The administrative divisions of the county in 
which their city or town is situated should be briefly ex- 
plained; afterward some general ideas of national and 
universal geography might be given. 

Geographical terms. A child should never be made to 
learn geographical terms until they have been explained 
by concrete representations. The chief geographical 
features may be shown on relief maps or by panoramic 
views. It would be waste of time for a child to learn 
a number of terms that do not call up the reality before 
his mind. The most rational and efficacious process is 
to instruct the child by making him observe the country 
around him. There are few localities where one cannot 
point out a hill, a river, etc., which will help to make 
pupils realize other geographical features not seen in the 
district. When the neighborhood does not contain an 
example, the teacher may make a model with potter's 
clay or moist sand, which can be speedily manipulated be- 
fore the class. Having explained to the pupils a geo- 
graphical term, the teacher should indicate on the board 
the way it is represented on the map. These black-board 
sketches may be reproduced in the map tracing-books.^ 

District and county geography. To accustom the 
children to read maps and draw sketches, the teacher 
might begin by making on the board a plan of the class- 
room. A child measures the dimensions of the room; 
the teacher writes them on the plan, and points out the 



Magic-lantern views would make the teaching very interesting. 



212 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

# 

proportion which exists between the line of the plan and 
the real length it represents. He shows on the plan 
where such a door or window ought to be placed. 
This work is done with the assistance of the children. 
The teacher directs and questions them, and by so doing 
stimulates their faculties of observation and reflection. 
The exercise terminates by a reproduction on slate or 
copybook of the sketch on the board. 

At another lesson, a line representing the principal 
street in the city or town is drawn. A pupil is called on 
to draw a second, and a third. Then the positions of 
the school, the church, the town-hall, the railway station, 
etc., are indicated. The plan may be kept and contin- 
ued at the next lesson. It should be very simple, con- 
taining nothing but what is useful in attaining the end in 
view. At the next lesson the plan may be enlarged, and 
the woods, the river, the pond, etc., which are near the 
town and which the children know, may be introduced. 
In studying the district, counties, and States, it would be 
well if the teacher himself sketched the necessary maps. 
These need contain only the important features and 
places; they will thus be much clearer and more readable 
than printed maps. 

As soon as the pupils have passed to the primary grades, 
they may be exercised in map-drawing. This work is to 
be done under the teacher's supervision; and he should 
assist the children in their first attempts, by suggestions 
as to the practical means for simplifying the work. 

Lower grammar grades. In these grades the children 
should study the national geography, with some general 
ideas of America and the other parts of the world; but 
only the most important portions need be dealt with, 
leaving the more complicated parts for the higher gram- 
mar grades. The teaching must preserve its concrete 
character. For example, in a lesson on the orography 
of a country, while the teacher names the mountains and 
explains their position, one pupil might point them out 
on the wall map, while another marks them on a black- 



GEOGRAPHY. 213 

board sketch, which he fills in as the lesson proceeds. 
The same drawing may be afterward executed by all the 
pupils on their slates or copybooks. When the sketch is 
finished, the teacher may give some interesting details on 
the formation of mountains, their utility, the part a cer- 
tain chain or group plays in the defence of the country, etc. 

These statements awaken the curiosity of the children, 
and help to impress on their minds the subject of the 
lesson. 

With the assistance of the text-book, and the atlas, the 
pupils study the lesson explained, and are thus able to 
show the places on the blank map. From time to time, 
during the recitation, the teacher may get them to draw a 
sketch indicating the necessary features of a part or of 
the whole of the lesson. 

A lesson on rivers may be given in a similar manner. 
The important rivers only should be indicated, and the 
towns that are remarkable for population, industry, or 
historical associations. A few facts about each of these 
may be necessary, and would interest the pupils. 

Higher grammar grades. In this division the pro- 
gramme of geography comprises the review of the na- 
tional geography, which is completed by a more detailed 
study. The geography of the colonies is added, as well 
as some idea of the physical and political geography of 
Europe, and other parts of the world. The methods of 
instruction are similar to those in the preceding divisions, 
but the sketches should be more detailed. Without 
entering on scientific explanations, the teacher explains 
some of the causes of the physical phenomena he treats: 
origin of the globe, formation of mountains, erosion of 
valleys, etc. 

Geography and history combined. Geography and 
history mutually aid each other in teaching. Thus: 
Philadelphia, Independence Hall, the Declaration of 
Independence. Boston, the Tea Party. Yorktown, 
the Surrender of Cornwallis. Manila, defeat of Spanish 
navy by Admiral Dewey. St. Helena, the exile of Na- 



214 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

poleon. In sacred history: Rome, the sufferings of 
the early Christians. Palestine, history of the Holy 
Family. Egypt, Pharaoh, Moses, Israelites, and Joseph. 

Compare area and population of State or country in 
which you live to another State or country; viz., United 
States with Europe; Texas with France; New England 
States with Missouri; England with Illinois, etc. Also 
have pupils compare countries and bodies of water to 
objects whose outlines they resemble; e.g., Cuba to an 
alligator; South America to a dog's head; Italy to a boot; 
Japan Sea to a rabbit. 

By geography we know the general character of peo- 
ple; the nature of their occupations, whether agricultural, 
industrial, or commercial; their foreign relations, espe- 
cially before the use of the modern system of rapid tran- 
sit; the direction taken in great invasions, etc. On the 
other hand, by connecting known historical occurrences 
with certain places, the teaching of geography becomes 
more useful and interesting. Without transforming a 
geography lesson into one on history, the teacher can 
complete each subject by points common to both. 

IV. — Plan of Lessons. 

The lessons in geography should not be a mere com- 
mentary on the text of the manual. It is absolutely nec- 
essary for the teacher to prepare his lessons — have relief 
map, chart or sketch on black-board for the pupils. 

The geography of North America is supposed to be 
known by the pupils. Have them name or point out on 
the map, the political divisions of North America, the 
waters surrounding it, principal mountain ranges, prin- 
cipal rivers. Then, for instance, take the United States, 
excluding its colonies, and compare it to the neighboring 
divisions, or to the different other countries, as to area, 
elevation, climate, natural resources, commerce, indus- 
tries, population, language, religion, names of the various 
States and principal cities, then, travelling from your own 
city to any other city, by rail, by water, naming direction, 



GEOGRAPHY. 



215 



and, if by rail, principal cities and States passed through, 
e.g., by boat, from Boston to St. Louis; by rail, from 
New York to Chicago, going by way of Washington. 

Plan of a Lesson on a State. 



Territory.. 



Surface. 



Water 



Means of 
Transit 



Soil 



Industries. 



Government 



Cities. 



r Boundaries of the State (sketch), area, 
\ population; position of State with rela- 
( tion to the United States. 

("Physical features: mountains, hills, val- 
\ leys; general slope, direction of the 
(^ rivers, climate. 

r Rivers, lakes, canals, irrigation and drain- 
} age; coast line, if any; commercial 
( advantages the water gives to the State. 

("Principal public roads, railroads; advan- 
} tages of these roads to the State, regard- 
( ing small towns and cities. 

{Character of the earth; mines, quarries; 
name different mineral and agricultural 
products found in the State and in what 
part. 

( Principal industries; where products are 
I chiefly sent. 

Administration; legislative, judicial, and 
ecclesiastical. 

Location; commercial or other advan- 
tages, if any. 



Historical j Discovery; explorations and other histori- 
Associations \ cal events; celebrated men, etc. 

The above plan may be adapted to suit the study of a 
section of a State or of a country; but as the territory be- 
comes extended, the minor details should be omitted. 



2l6 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



Plan of a Lesson on a River Basin. 

Physical aspects of the basm. Situation, extent, lim- 
its, geological nature of the country drained by the river 
and its tributaries (sketch). Direction of slope of the 
country, and the obstacles which change or direct the 
course of the river (profiles). 

Course of the river. Source, course (sketch), cities, 
mouth. 

Tributaries. Considerations analogous to the preced- 
ing, but shorter. 

Regions. Indication of countries through which rivers 
flow. 

Plan of a Lesson on the Commercial Geography of a 
Country. 

Agriculture. Review of the geological, climatic, and 
hydrographic conditions of the country. 

Vegetable and animal products. Trees, aHmental 
crops, artificial and natural grasses, industrial crops. 
Animals, fisheries, game. 

Industry. Summary study of the mineral, vegetable, 
and animal productions; corresponding industries. 

Commerce. Ways and means of transit: roads, rail- 
ways, canals, harbors, telegraph and cable systems. 
Exchanges: home and foreign trade; imports and ex- 
ports (graphic statistics). 

Colonies. Resources, relations with the mother- 
country, and with other nations. 

Special attention should be paid to the recently ac- 
quired colonies of the United States. 



ARITHMETIC. 217 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ARITHMETIC. 

In elementary schools instruction in arithmetic in- 
cludes: (i) Oral and written calculations; (2) mental 
arithmetic; (3) definitions and demonstrations, the usual 
subject of the oral lesson; (4) analysis and solution of 
pro-blems. 

I. — ^Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. To know numbers a per- 
son must be able to perceive relations of similarity and 
magnitude with respect to the unit — comparison and 
judgment. The senses of sight and touch help in the 
acquisition of general and abstract ideas of numbers — 
intuition and abstraction. Generalization and reasoning 
are used in definitions and the solution of problems. 
And the continued application of these faculties to the 
object of their activity exercises attention and reflection. 

Principles to be followed. Arithmetic must be taught: 

1. Intuitively, by means of ball-frame, sticks, cubes, 
etc. 

2. Rationally, and not empirically. As the study of 
this subject depends chiefly on reason, the why and 
wherefore of each step should be shown. However, the 
amount of theory will depend on the age and intelli- 
gence of the pupils. 

3. Practically: quickness and accuracy in the simple 
rules must be first attained; and the problems must be 
instructive. For these ends, questions bearing on geog- 
raphy, lengths, and populations; history, difference of 
time between events; cost of certain expensive habits, 
abuse of alcoholic drinks, etc., may be proposed. 

4. Methodically and clearly. The ideas should fol- 
low each other in generic sequence; thus addition leads 



2l8 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

through cumulative addition to multiplication, and sub- 
traction to division. 

II. — Oral and Written Calculations. 

Mechanism of the four fundamental operations. — In 

order to lead pupils to calculate rapidly and correctly, 
they should get a great deal of practice in the lower 
classes. Even in the higher grammar classes, it is 
useful to devote the first few minutes of the lesson in 
arithmetic to mechanical calculations, such as, rather 
complicated questions in addition, multiplication, or 
division. The award of a good mark to the pupils who 
get correct answers first, arouses emulation among them, 
and insures success. 

As soon as pupils begin arithmetic, they should get a 
practical knowledge of numeration and notation; other- 
wise, some might know the mechanical working of the 
four rules, without being able to write down numbers 
dictated by the teacher. Such pupils could not be exer- 
cised in mental arithmetic. It is, therefore, far better 
to dictate the exercises than to allow the children to copy 
them from their books. Arithmetic manuals are useful 
for prescribing exercises for home and desk work. 

Addition. It is important that children acquire ra- 
pidity and accuracy in addition. Beginners should first 
be taught to count, read, and write numbers, decade by 
decade, up to loo. They might then be got to name 
them two by two, three by three, five by five, etc.; but 
mentioning always the constant number added to obtain 
the next, thus: 

2 and 2.. 4 and 2.. 6 and 2.. 8 and 2. . 10 and 2.. 12 
3and3.. 6and3.. 9 and3 .. 12 and 3 .. 15 and 3 . . 18 
5 and 5 . . 10 and 5 . . 15 and 5 . . 20 and 5.-25 and 5.-30 

Simultaneously with these preliminaries, the teacher 
may get short additions worked on the board. A col- 
umn of figures is written, and the pupils in turn add 
them, first upward, then downward, the exercise being 



ARITHMETIC. 219 

lengthened according to the progress of the pupils. From 
time to time, one figure in the column should be replaced 
by another.* 

The teacher might show during the black-board work 
that the last figure of an addition is determined by the 
last figures of the numbers which have been used in form- 
ing it. He may make the pupils observe, for instance, 
that: 

3 and 4 are 7 

13 and 4 are 17 

23 and 4 are 27, etc., 

and that the three answers end in 7, formed by 3 and 4. 
Gradually the children become familiar with this induc- 
tion and will profit by it. This is an excellent practice. 

Subtraction. Subtraction presents little difficulty to a 
child who knows addition; when he says that 5 and 4 are 
9, it is easy to make him understand that if from 9 one 
takes either of the numbers 5 or 4, the other remains. 
In the first exercises the figures in the minuend should 
all be greater than their corresponding figures in the sub- 
trahend. At the next lesson the minuend might contain 
some figures smaller than the corresponding figures in 
the subtrahend. Later on greater difficulties are intro- 
duced, for example, two or three noughts in succession in 
the minuend. The pupils ought to be accustomed to 
prove the subtraction either by addition or by another 
subtraction. 

Multiplication. The pupils should study the multipli- 
cation table by heart, but the teacher need not wait till 
they have mastered all the table, before giving multi- 
plication exercises. They can begin little operations as 
soon as they know the product of the first nine figures 
by 2. According as they learn the tables, they may em- 

1 Another way of giving practice in addition is to arrange the digits in a 
circle: a pupil begins at any figure and adds as the teacher points around 
the circle. This method affords great variety, and quickly discovers the 
difficulties of the pupils. The teacher should note these difficulties, and 
give exercises on them. 



220 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

ploy Other figures as multipliers. When the pupils thor- 
oughly know the products of the first nine figures, they 
may be exercised in varied multiplications.^ In prepa- 
ration for this, they may go through a few special exer- 
cises. The teacher writes the first nine figures in any 
order in a horizontal line on the board, thus: 

198237645 

He then writes underneath these a multiplier, for in- 
stance, 4. Each pupil gives the product of one number, 
without, however, setting down the result, or noting the 
tens carried. After three or four tests with the same 
multipHer another is substituted, and the products found 
in the same manner. 

Remark. In the lower and higher grammar grades 
it will be found useful for the pupils to know the squares 
of II, 12, 13, 14, and 15, etc., as also the products of 
these numbers by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. 

Division. A pupil who knows the multiplication 
tables thoroughly will find division very easy. He 
knows, for instance, that 6 times 7 are 42; then he can be 
made to understand without much difficulty that 42 con- 
tains the number 6 seven times, or the number 7 six 
times. The following progressive steps will help a child 
in mastering division. 

1. Division without a remainder, with one figure as 
divisor, and one in the quotient. The problem ought to 
be worked first orally, then on the board. Example: 
How many times is 4 contained in 20 ? ... . How 
many times is 9 contained in 54? ... . 

2. Division with a remainder, having one figure in the 
divisor, and one in the quotient. As in the preceding 
exercise, the question is done orally first, then on the 
board. Example: How many times is 4 contained in 13 ? 
. . . . How many times is 9 contained in 68? ... . 
Each time attention is drawn to the remainder. 

1 A good test is to get two pupils facing each other to recite aloud different 
tables, say 4 times and 7 times ; if these are thoroughly known the pupils 
will not break down. 



ARITHMETIC. 221 

3. Division with one figure in the divisor, and several 
figures in the quotient. Here, new and somewhat seri- 
ous difficulties occur when the first figure of the dividend 
is smaller than that of the divisor, or the partial divi- 
dends smaller than the divisor. The quotients need not 
always be whole numbers; the decimal point may be in- 
serted and the operation continued. 

Remarks, i. Children should make use of correct 
terms in calculating, and not employ useless expres- 
sions. 

2. Neatness, method, and well-formed figures must be 
insisted on. 

3. The results ought generally to be proved. 

III. — Mental Arithmetic. 

Nature and importance. The term mental arithmetic 
is applied, not to work done from memory according to 
the processes employed in written arithmetic, but to men- 
tal calculations performed by decomposing the numbers 
on which the operations are to be effected. Such calcu- 
lation is not a branch independent of arithmetic; and 
mental exercises on operations and problems analogous 
to those done in writing should be worked in all the 
classes. 

The importance of mental arithmetic is unquestion- 
able, from an educational and a practical point of view. 
Provided pupils understand the methods they employ, 
mental arithmetic gives intellectual drill of the best kind. 
It leads children to reflect and reason without the aid of 
objects; helps to make them accurate and precise; and 
accustoms them to discuss mentally the method of solving 
a problem, before working it on paper. It is of constant 
use in daily life. 

Preparatory and primary classes. In the preparatory 
classes mental exercises are confined to the addition and 
subtraction of numbers of two figures, or at most three; 
but it is necessary to interest the pupils, and for this rea- 



222 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

son merely abstract numbers should never be used, but 
numbers of apples, nuts, sweets, marbles, etc. 

In the primary classes a few minutes should be de- 
voted daily to mental arithmetic. Problems to be 
worked on the black-board may be preceded by an oral 
problem, solved mentally, in which the same question is 
asked in different terms; but in order not to weary the 
children, very large numbers must not be used. 

Lower and higher grammar grades. In the lower and 
higher grammar grades the processes which lead most 
quickly to correct results should be taught. Thus to 
add 257 to 138, the pupil decomposes the figures men- 
tally into hundreds, tens, and units; 200 of the first 
number and 100 of the second are 300; 50 of the first 
and 30 of the second are 80; in all 380, to which 7 and 
8 are added to make 395. 

Similarly, to multiply 28 by 150, 28 is multiplied by 
100, which gives 28 hundreds; to this product is added 
the half of 28 hundreds, which gives a total of 42 hun- 
dreds, or 4,200. To multiply a number by 99 or loi, it 
is first multiplied by 100; then to the product, once the 
number is either added or subtracted. To multiply a 
number by 109 or in, it is multiplied first by 100, then 
by 10, and once the number is taken from or added to 
the sum of the two products. To multiply a number by 
25, it is multiplied by 100, and the fourth of the product 
is taken; or better still, the fourth of the number is mul- 
tipUed by 100. To divide a number by 25, it is divided 
by 100 and the quotient multiplied by 4. 

If the interest on a certain sum is to be found, for 
example, $8,000 at 5 per cent, for 3 months, the pupils 
may reason thus: In one year each $100 gains $5, and 80 
hundreds would gain 80 times $5. But 3 months repre- 
sent a quarter of a year, the interest required is then the 
quarter of 80 times $5, or 20 times $5, i.e., $100. If the 
rate be 4 the question is still more simply solved: $100 
would gain $1 in 3 months, and the 80 hundreds would 
gain $80. 



ARITHMETIC. 223 

These examples suffice to show how pupils may be 
accustomed to operate mentally on numbers. Having 
put the question to the whole class, the teacher gives 
the pupils time for reflection, and then asks the answer 
from one, two, three, or four of them, requiring an ex- 
planation of the processes employed. 

Remarks, i. In order that the questions may follow 
one another without delay, the teacher should prepare 
beforehand. 

2. It is desirable that the exercises of each day relate to 
a given rule, which would form the pivot of the lesson; 
and that these exercises be followed by written problems, 
in which the ideas used in the mental calculations ap- 
pear. 

3. Sometimes all the operations may relate to one 
principal questioir, so that, several numbers being con- 
stant, the attention of the pupils may be less fatigued. 
Thus in the higher grammar classes, the following series 
of calculations may be performed on the constant num- 
bers 3 and 2: A rectangular box with a lid, measures 3 
feet in length, 2 in width, and 2 in height. Find: (i) 
the number of edges; (2) the total length of these 
edges; (3) the area of each face; (4) the total area of 
the faces; (5) what it would cost to cover the box with 
cloth at 2 cents per square inch; (6) the volume of the 
box in cubic inches. 

IV. — Lesson in Arithmetic. 

Preparatory classes. In the preparatory classes, the 
lesson in arithmetic comprises two parts: 

1. Simple ideas of notation, taught by concrete proc- 
esses. 

2. Exercises in the four rules. 

The child is first taught how to disHnguishy count, and 
write the first ten numbers, and he is given an exact idea 
of them by means of objects. 



224 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

Using the Abacus. 

Abacus, or ball-frame. The abacus is an apparatus 
composed of a frame, in which are set ten parallel iron 
wires, each having ten movable balls of various colors. 
It is an indispensable instrument in the lower classes, 
for the purpose of giving the younger pupils a knowledge 
of the formation of numbers, and supplying a means of 
exercising them in the four fundamental rules. 

To teach the formation of numbers from i to lo, move 
one ball. This gives an idea of the number one. To 
form two, move one to the side of the first. This gives an 
idea of the number two. Another ball added to this gives 
three, etc. The formation of tens and the subsequent 
numbers may be explained by means of the ten balls 
on each wire. Thus, the balls on one wire form ten, 
those on two wires twenty, etc. To form the number 37, 
we move all the balls on the first three rows, and 7 balls 
on the fourth. It is thus easy to see that 37 is composed 
of 3 tens and 7 units. 

Addition. If we wish to add 5 and 2, we first take a 
group of 5 balls and another of 2. Joining these two 
groups we obtain the number 7. Hence 5 and 2 are 7. 
We may, in like manner, show that 8 and 6 make 14. 

To add the numbers 4, 3, 7, and 5; take 4 balls on the 
first row to form the group of 4; then 3 for the group 
of 3. To form the group of 7 take the remaining 3 of 
the first row, and 4 of the second; then add 5 to form the 
last figure. Joining these we have 19. 

Subtraction. To subtract 3 from 8, form a group of 8 
balls, and separate 3, showing that 5 remain; hence 3 
from 8 leave 5. In the same way show that 15 from 27 
leave 12. 

Multiplication. To multiply 6 by 5, form a group of 6 
balls on each of the first five rows, and by addition show 
that 5 times 6 are 30. When each group of six is formed 
a ball might be moved on one of the lower rows to show 
when 5 groups of sixes are formed. 



ARITHMETIC. 225 

Division. To divide 25 by 5; count off 25 balls, from 
these 25 balls count off 5 at a time, as often as possible; 
taking care to move a ball on one of the unused wires, 
every time a five is counted. Then it is seen that after 
5 operations nothing remains. Therefore 25 contains 
5 five times. 

To divide 29 by 5 we proceed in the same way, noting 
that after 5 operations, 4 balls remain. Hence 29 con- 
tains 5 five times, with a remainder of 4. 

The majority of oral exercises in the four rules may be 
taught by means of the ball-frame. 

If there is not a ball-frame in the school, small cubes 
may be used to represent units, and sticks equal in size to 
ten cubes to represent tens. Showing one cube to the 
pupils, the teacher writes a large figure i on the board, 
and gets the children to make the same figure on their 
slates or exercise books. He adds another cube to the 
first, making 2; this number he names and has named, 
writes it on the board, and has it copied. He then passes 
on to 3, 4, etc., thus showing in a concrete manner how 
the numbers from i to 10 are formed. 

Instead of representing 10 by ten separate cubes, the 
teacher might place them close together in a row, glued 
on a piece of canvas; this arrangement would make the 
child understand better the idea of ten. Ten similar rows 
form 100. Other objects, books, slates, etc., might also 
be counted; and thus the children will understand that a 
person may have a number of other things, as well as of 
cubes. The teacher then forms the numbers of the 
second decade, 11, 12, 13, etc., with the help of a ten row, 
to which he adds one, two, three .... blocks succes- 
sively. To form the numbers of the third decade he 
adds to two rows, one, two, three .... blocks; and 
obtains 21, 22, 23, etc.; which he names and writes, and 
gets the children to name and write. The children soon 
perceive that the last figure of the number represents the 
single blocks, and the first the rows; that is, the one, units 
and the other, tens. 

One form of recreative exercise for teaching young 



226 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

children to count consists in giving to each a small box 
containing a hundred pieces of thin cardboard, all of 
equal size and similar shape. Each child counts them 
by tens, and places them in rows before him. At a given 
sign from the teacher, the children make up little piles, 
each containing ten pieces of cardboard, which they put 
back, pile by pile, into the box. When putting them 
back, they count aloud: one ten, two tens, .... nine 
tens, ten tens, or one hundred. The teacher collects one 
by one the little boxes; places them in a larger box which 
bears the name of thousand, and counts aloud, one hun- 
dred, two hundred .... ten hundred or a thousand. 
When this exercise is finished, a number of three figures 
might be written and represented concretely. The num- 
ber 234, for instance, is represented by 2 boxes, 3 piles of 
cardboard, and 4 separate cards. 

Calculations with abstract numbers should be avoided 
in teaching young children. The following are a few of 
the means which might interest them: A foot-rule is 
shown, and the children are taught the use of it, by 
measuring the length of the class-room, and getting them 
to count, one foot, two feet, three feet, etc.; the number is 
then written on the board. The width of the room is 
measured in the same way, which gives a second addend. 
These dimensions are repeated and the total is found. 
The result is verified by measuring successively the four 
walls of the class-room. At the next lesson feet of linen, 
thread, etc., are added and subtracted; at another lesson, 
the numbers may represent pennies. After explaining 
what a gallon is, the calculations may be performed on 
gallons of water, oil, etc. 

Primary classes. In the junior, as in the preparatory 
division, the arithmetic lesson consists of two parts: first, 
explanations of numeration and notation, the rules, and 
easy tables; second, exercises, either oral or written. 

Numeration and notation. It is necessary to return 
frequently to notation, and to insist on the reading, writ- 
ing, and calculation of whole numbers and decimals. 



ARITHMETIC. 



227 



When the formation of numbers up to 1,000 has been 
studied by concrete methods in the preparatory division, 
the pupils will easily understand that one counts by 
thousands as one has counted by units; that we can have 
units of thousands, tens and hundreds of thousands; 
that the units of thousands are written in the fourth place 
counting from right to left, the tens in the fifth, and the 
hundredths in the sixth. When, for instance, the teach- 
er dictates 45,305, a pupil questioned, should say that 
the 4 represents tens of thousands, and that it is written 
in the fifth place, etc. 

For decimals, the teaching should be confined to 
tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. However, a sim- 
ple explanation would suffice to guide the pupils if they 
have other denominations of decimals to write. If, for 
instance, 25 units, and 328 hundred-thousandths are 
to be written, the teacher asks how many noughts in 
100,000; when the pupil answers jive, the teacher points 
out that the figure 8 of the hundred thousandths ought to 
occupy the fifth place after the decimal point, and conse- 
quently, that two noughts must be placed after the deci- 
mal point, thus: 25.00328. 

Explanations on the four fundamental rules. The 

explanations on the four rules, and especially on multi- 
plication and division, should be given little by little, 
graduating the difficulties. (Definitions ought always to 
follow, and not to precede the explanations. The pupils 
must be first made to understand, then formulate, and 
afterward learn rules and definitions.) 

If the teacher wishes to explain the use of multiplica- 
tion, he may give examples like the following: A work- 
man earns $2.00 a day; how much will he have earned at 
the end of 5 days ? The pupils are led to reason as fol- 
lows: in one day, the workman earns $2.00, in two days, 

twice $2.00, in five days, 5 times $2.00. 

A pupil goes to the board and writes five times in a ver- 
tical column the number 2, and adds up. The teacher 
makes him remark what a long addition problem would 



228 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

result if he had to find out the earning for 20, 50, or 80 
days, and tells him that there is a shorter way than by 
repeating so often the number 2. Then he explains that 
by multiplication we can repeat one number as many 
times as there are units in another number. After some 
examples the teacher gives the necessary explanations o^ 
the terms multiplicand, multiplier , product ; then f ormu 
lates the definition of multiplication, and has it repeated 
by a certain number of pupils. 

Problems on the four rules. Tables. If the question 
is asked: How many yards of muslin, at 8 cents a yard, 
can I buy for 72 cents ? the pupils should not be permitted 
to answer a priori: ^^ It is done by division.'^ This mode 
of answering would not imply reasoning; besides, the an- 
swer is often in such cases given hap-hazard, or by anal- 
ogy with exercises previously done. The pupils ought to 
be taught to reason as follows: '^ With 8 cents, I can buy 
one yard of muslin; with twice 8 cents, I can buy two 
yards; with three times 8 cents, three yards. ... I shall 
have as many yards of material as 8 is contained in 72." 
In the first lessons the pupil should finish by stating: 
''The operation by which I find how often one number 
is contained in another is called division." 

With the pupils of the primary classes, the teacher need 
not go beyond the easy tables of weights and measures, 
money and time. The measurements of surface and 
volume can be dealt with in the lower grammar classes. 
The explanations of the different tables should be given 
by means of concrete illustrations; coins might be used 
in teaching the money table; a seconds-pendulum for the 
time table; foot and yard measures for long measure, etc. 
To show objects, and let the children handle them when 
necessary, simplifies the teaching, makes it more agree- 
able, and tends to impress the facts more deeply on their 
minds. 

It will be found useful also to give primary pupils ele- 
mentary notions of common fractions. Some knowledge 
of them is necessary; for, in mental arithmetic, the pupils 



ARITHMETIC. 229 

must know how to find the half, the third, and the three- 
fourths of a number. An easy method of explaining 
fractions is to represent the unit by a Hne, which can be 
divided into a certain number of equal parts, 5, for in- 
stance. A thicker stroke on the first two or three parts 
marks the portion of the line required. This graphic 
process shows on the line itself the meaning of the nu- 
merator and denominator of a fraction. An inverse 
method may also be followed: the fraction is given, and 
then represented concretely on the black-board. The 
nature of fractions may also be explained by means of 
fruit, small rods of wood, or anything else that can be 
easily divided. 

Remark. The teacher should give these explanations 
at the beginning of the lesson, when the children are 
fresh. He need not spend much time at them; but be- 
fore going on to another branch of the programme, he 
ought to ascertain whether what has been explained is 
thoroughly understood. For this end, he might ques- 
tion the backward pupils rather than the more briUiant 
ones. 

Lower grammar and higher grammar classes. In 

these grades the teaching in arithmetic preserves its 
practical character; but it should exercise more and 
more the reasoning and reflective powers of the children. 
The lesson may be conducted on the following lines: 

1. Questions are asked on the preceding lesson, and 
exercises are done on the board, particularly when that 
lesson explained principles which are to be made use of 
in the lesson of the day. 

2. New lesson is explained; the teacher, by means of 
Socratic questions, getting the pupils to take part in it. 

3. Typical exercises are worked on the board and in 
the exercise books. 

4. Work to be done in school or at home is given; gen- 
erally a problem of a practical nature, making use of 
data borrowed from every-day life. 



2^0 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

V. — Problems. 

Choice of problems. The teacher should exercise 
much discernment in selecting problems from books of 
miscellaneous examples. The questions must be more 
or less complicated according to the age and intelligence 
of the children; more or less numerous on the same sub- 
ject, according to the time which can be given to in- 
struction in arithmetic. These questions ought to be 
worked out by the teacher himself, before proposing 
them to the pupils, to avoid hesitation and want of clear- 
ness when explaining. The best collection of problems 
is that which a teacher composes himself, and which he 
improves from year to year, by adding new questions 
selected from books and school reviews. If he com- 
pose the problems himself, he should be careful that the 
results be correct, and not a contradiction of the nature 
of things or the customs of life. 

For pupils who are to leave school at about thirteen 
years of age, it is not advisable to spend time in solving 
complicated problems, which are good, doubtless, as 
intellectual exercises, but are not practical. Problems 
bearing on domestic economy, or connected with indus- 
trial or agricultural life should be chosen in preference. 
It is also a good moral training for pupils to calculate 
the cost of certain habits, as, for instance, the use of 
tobacco, alcoholic drinks, etc.; or to estimate the gain 
resulting from order and temperance. 

Solution of problems. Specimen or typical problems 
should be specially explained by the teacher. They 
must be written on the black-board, with the important 
data underlined; the attention of the pupils is then 
directed to the unknown quantity; and, by a logical 
series of questions, the teacher leads the pupils to the 
right solution. These problems might be transcribed, 
and kept for reference during home and desk work. 
For young children the data of problems given as ex- 
ercises should at first be almost the same as those of 



ARITHMETIC. 23 1 

the examples solved on the board; they might differ only 
in the figures. 

It is very important that the pupils thoroughly under- 
stand and memorize the typical problems. They must 
be accustomed to read attentively, and reread several 
times an enunciation, before beginning the solution. 
Written solutions ought to be generally required, and 
from time to time, some of these may be reproduced on 
the board, either to show their correctness or to point 
out errors. When the problem is an important one, 
the teacher, having explained it, should have it written 
neatly and correctly on the board as a model. 

Sometimes, particularly in the higher grammar classes, 
directions might be given for the solution of problems 
by means of algebraic notation. After exercises in can- 
ceUing, resolving of numbers into their factors, etc., the 
teacher may pass to simple equations of one or more 
unknown quantities, and thus deduce an easy method 
of solving certain questions, difficult to work by arith- 
metical processes. 

Hints to be given to pupils on the solution of prob- 
lems. Pupils are generally inclined to begin the solution 
of a problem without duly reflecting on the method; 
and having done the work, they do not examine whether 
the answer is reasonable or in accordance with the 
result that might be expected. They should be warned 
against precipitation. With this object, the following 
suggestions might be given from time to time: 

1. As soon as the problem is given, to read the data 
and ask themselves: What is required? 

2. To seek out carefully the method of finding what 
is required; to work attentively, and moderately slow. 

3. In writing the solution, to begin a new line for each 
different step, so that the reasoning may be easily 
followed; to do the rough calculations on the portion 
of the page set aside for that purpose. 

4. To satisfy themselves that they have followed a 
correct method by examining whether the answer is 
probable and in harmony with the data. 



232 



ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



VI.— Solution of Problems. 

The teacher should not wait until the pupils know 
the four rules perfectly before initiating them into the 
method of working problems. As soon as they know 
addition and subtraction, he may show them how to 
solve questions irt these rules; but their work would be 
purely mechanical if they were not trained to reflect on 
the data, and reason on the problem. 

Having dictated and written on the black-board the 
data of a problem, the teacher should question the pupils: 
(i) On what is required, or what they must find; (2) on 
what is given; (3) on the operations to be performed. 
They are thus made to reflect on the end to be attained. 
When the problem has been reasoned out in this way, 
the teacher has the solution written on half the black- 
board, or copybook, and the calculations on the other 
half. The solutions and operations may be arranged 
thus: 



Primary 

I. Question. 

How do you verify the 
answer in subtraction? 

Answer. To prove a 
question in subtraction, 
the subtrahend and the 
difference are added to- 
gether, and the sum must 
be equal to the minuend. 


Classes. 

Example. 

From 18,574 apples take 
away 7,928. 

18,574 
7,928 


10,646 
7,928 


18,574 


2. Problem. John had i 
then lost 52. How many he 


75 marbles, he won 28, and 
IS he remaining? 


Solution. 

Total number of marbles : 

175-^28 = 203 

203-52 = 151 
Remainder. 


Operations. 

175 203 
28 52 

203 151 



ARITHMETIC. 



233 



Grammar Classes. 



I. Question. 

How is a whole num- 
ber multiplied by 10, 100, 
1,000, etc. ? 

Ex. Multiply 345 by 
100. 

Answer. A whole num- 
ber is multiplied by 10, 
100, 1,000, etc., by writing 
one, two, three noughts to 
the right of the units 
figure. 



Reasoning. 

To multiply 345 by 100, 
I add two noughts to the 
right of the 5, and I get 
34,500, which is a hundred 
times greater than 345. 

The first number repre- 
sented 345 units, while the 
second represents 345 hun- 
dreds. 



2. A sum of $18,420 was divided among four persons. 
The first received $4,375; the second received as much as 
the first and $450 besides; the third received $3,500 less 
than the other two together; how much remained for 
the fourth? 



Solution. 

The 2d person's share: 
4,375 + 450 = 4,825 


Operations. 

4,375 
450 


4,825 
4,375 


Sum of the first two: 
4,375 + 4,825 = 9,200 
The third person's share: 
9,200 — 3,500 = 5,700 


4,825 


9,200 


9,200 
3.500 


9,200 

5,700 


Total of the first three: 
9,2004-5,700=14,900 


5.700 


14,900 


Hence the fourth person 
received 

18,420- 14, 900 = $3, 520 


18,420 
14,900 




Answer. $3,520. 


3.520 





234 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



Higher Grammar Classes. 

I. The product of two numbers was increased by 
1,260, by adding 2 to the multiplier and 5 to the mul- 
tiplicand. Find the multiplicand, if the multiplier is 65. 



Operations. 

65X5 = 325 
5X2= 10 



335 



1260 
335 

925-^2 = 462.5 



Solution. 

The product was in- 
creased by 5 times the mul- 
tiplier or 325, plus twice 
the multiplicand, plus 2X5 
or 10. 

Hence twice the multi- 
plicand equals 1,260 — 335 

= 925- 

Once the multiplicand is 
925^-2 = 462.5. 

Remark. By using algebraic symbols the reasoning in 
this problem is at once made evident. 

2. If 24 men can dig a ditch in 14 days, how long will 
it take 21 men to dig it? 

Operation. 

If 24 men can dig a ditch in 14 days, 

I man " " 14X24 = 336 days. 

14X24 

21 men " *' =i6days, ^W5. 

21 

Solution. Arrange the statement so that what is 
required may come last. Thus, if 24 men can dig a 
ditch in 14 days, i man will require 24 times as many 
days, or 24 times 14 days = 336 days. And if i man 
requires 336 days to dig a ditch, 21 men will require 
21 times less, or -W'= ^^ days. 

3. What is the exact interest of $670 from March 10, 
1885, to June I, 1887, at 8%? 



ARITHMETIC. 235 

Operation. Solution. The in- 

$670 X. 08= $53.60 Int. I yr. terest of $670 for i 



year, or 365 days, 
$53.6oX 2 = $107. 20 " 2yrs. at 8^, is $53.60, 
$53.6oX-^\= 12.18+'' 83 da. and the interest for 



2 years is $107 . 20. 

$119.38+ Ans. From March loth 

to June ist there 

are 83 days. And if the interest of $670 for one year is 

$53 . 60, for 83 days it is -^ of $53 . 60, which is $1 2 . 18. 

Hence the entire interest equals $107 .20 + $12 . 18 = 

$119-38 + . 

4. Two persons engage in trade and gain $660. A 
puts in $400 for 3 months; and B $500 for 2 months; 
what is each man's share of the gain? 

Operation. Solution. The 

$400X3 = $1,200, A's capital. use of $400 for 3 

$500X2= 1,000, B's " months is the same 

$2,200, entire " as the use of $1,200 

i|^o=^ = A's share. ["^^ \ month; and 

1000 5 -R' V. $500 for 2 months IS 

22oo=TT = -'^s Share. equivalent to $1,000 

$66oXi^ = $36o, A'sgain. for i month. Thus 

$66oX^ = $3oo, B's " the original invest- 

ments for unequal 
periods of time are 
made equivalent to 
other investments for equal periods of time. The rest 
of the solution is the same as in Case I. 

Rule. Multiply each partner^s investment by the 
time it was employed, and divide the gain or loss in pro- 
portion to the respective products. 



236 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER IX. 
ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY AND MENSURATION. 

Instruction in Preparatory and Primary Classes. Ex- 
amples of Instruction in Lower and Higher Gram- 
mar Grades. 

In primary classes, instruction in geometry is gener- 
ally limited to a few simple practical principles, which 
do not require geometrical demonstrations strictly so 
called. In the lowest divisions, this instruction is part- 
ly included in drawing; it consists chiefly in showing 
something, naming it, and drawing it. 

The lower classes. For young children, a thread 
represents a line; a straight line when it is stretched, a 
curved line when it is not. A plumb-line will give the 
idea of a vertical line. The walls of the class-room, 
a black-board, a copybook, etc., will fix in the minds 
the form of the rectangle; the set-square shows the tri- 
angle. The different polygons may be cut out in card- 
board, and have their names written on them in large 
letters. 

In the lower classes, definitions should not be formu- 
lated. Questions like the following must not be asked: 
''What is a horizontal line ? What is a rectangle ? What 
is a circle ? " They might be asked in this way: "What 
do you call this figure? and this line? and this one?^^ 
Or, one pupil may be sent to the black-board, while the 
others are told to work on their slates or copybooks, 
and the teacher dictates: Draw a straight line, . . a 
curve, . . a vertical line, . . an angle, . . a 
triangle, . . a square, etc. 

Upper primary classes. In the primary classes, in- 
struction is given in the same manner, but with some 
additions. For instance, instead of merely drawing a 
triangle, the name of its various parts should be given. 



ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY AND MENSURATION. 237 

The different kinds of triangles are distinguished from 
one another; an equilateral triangle is drawn and its 
name written, together with the words, three equal sides ; 
an isosceles triangle with the words two equal sides ; a 
scalene triangle with the name only. As in the lower 
division the teacher should confine his instruction to 
showing, analyzing, and tracing figures; definitions and 
calculations being reserved for the lower and higher 
grammar classes. 

Lower and higher grammar classes. After review- 
ing the principles already studied, which are completed 
by definitions, the teacher shows how to estimate sur- 
faces and volumes. The method employed in superficial 
measure, to show that a square yard contains nine 
square feet, may also be employed to explain that the 
area of a rectangle is found by multiplying the unit 
of area by the numbers representing the length and 
breadth. 

Examples, i. A rectangle drawn on the board is 
supposed to be 7 feet long and 3 wide. It is divided into 
three parts, each 7 feet long and one foot wide; the first 
part is divided into 7 equal parts, each part representing 
a square foot: it is then easy to understand that the 
area of the rectangle is equal to 3 times 7 square feet, 
or 21 square feet; and that, to arrive at this result, we 
have to find the product of the unit of area, by the 
number of times it was repeated lengthwise, and the 
number of times this length was repeated breadthwise.^ 
The rule for finding the volume of a cube may be es- 
tablished in a similar manner. 

2. The square may be considered as a rectangle 
whose sides are all equal. 

3. By joining the middle points of the adjacent sides 
of a rectangle we obtain a figure whose diagonals 

iWhen beginning this class of problems, with the pupils of the lower 
grammar classes, the foot might be taken as unit, and a figure drawn on 
the board (or the floor) of which the sides really measure 3 and 7 feet. 
Afterward figures are taken whose dimensions are supposed to be the 
given values. 



238 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

represent the length and breadth of the rectangle. 
The pupil may execute this tracing on a rectangular 
piece of paper; then, if the triangular-shaped corners 
of the rectangle be cut off and placed on the figure, he 
will find that they exactly cover it. The pupils will 
then see that the figure is equal to half the rectangle; 
whence the rule for the area is evident. 

4. By the process of cutting, a parallelogram can be 
converted into a rectangle of the same area; hence the 
area of a parallelogram is obtained as in Example i 
above. 

5. By cutting a rectangular piece of paper along a 
diagonal, we obtain two triangles which may be made to 
coincide. Each triangle has for base and height the 
base and height of the rectangle, but has only half 
the size: whence it may be deduced that the area of a 
triangle is found by multiplying the unit of area by half 
the product of the base and height of the triangle. This 
demonstration may also be made with the parallelogram. 

6. The teacher may now pass to the regular polygons, 
which he divides into as many triangles having their 
apex at the centre, as the polygon has sides. The area 
of one triangle is found, and multiplied by the number 
of sides of the polygon. It evidently follows that the 
sum of the bases of the triangles, or the perimeter of the 
polygon, is to be multiplied by half the perpendicular 
of the triangles, to find the area. 

7. The circle considered as a regular polygon with an 
indefinite number of sides, has also its apothem, the 
radius, and its perimeter, the circumference. Hence 
its area is found by multiplying the circumference by 
half the radius. But in teaching pupils how to find the 
circumference, the teacher may at first simply tell them 
that it is obtained by multiplying the diameter by the 
number 3.1416. It is a useful exercise to take a 
cyUndrical object, and measure its circumference with 
a thread; then the diameter is measured with the same 
thread and is found to be contained a little more than 
three times in the circumference; the figures 3.1416 are 



ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY AND MENSURATION. 239 

now written on the board, and exercises are given on the 
circumference and diameter. 

8. By means of cardboard or stiff paper, the teacher 
can show how cylinders, cones, etc., are made. The 
relation between the curved surface of the cylinder and 
the surface of the rectangle, the surface of the cone and 
that of the triangle, etc., is thus evident; and the rules 
for the areas of the regular solids are easily deduced. 

9. Squares are constructed on the sides of a right- 
angled triangle, the length of the sides being respectively 
3, 4, and 5 feet; by checkering, it will be seen that the 
square on the hypothenuse is equal to 25 square feet, 
and that the sum of the squares on the sides is 16 sq. ft. 
+ 9 sq. ft. or 25 sq. ft. The teacher states that in all 
right-angled triangles, the square on the hypothenuse is 
equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides. 
Varied exercises will impress this principle. 

All these processes are purely mechanical; they are 
illustrations and verifications rather than proofs. How- 
ever, they are none the less useful, for they impress 
upon the memory of the pupil the rules deduced, and aid 
him in finding them out again, should he forget them. 
There are other important formulas, difficult to explain, 
which senior pupils should be able to apply. For 
instance, without going through the complicated dem- 
onstration of the formula for finding the area of a 
triangle in terms of its sides, pupils easily learn how to 
make use of it; it will be sufficient for the teacher to 
work two or three applications of the rule on the black- 
board. Similar remarks apply to such formulas as 
those for the surface and volume of the frustum of a 
cone, the area and volume of a sphere, etc. The knowl- 
edge of certain geometrical principles is required for 
mechanical drawing; in this case also the principles 
may be applied without demonstration. 

Examples, i. The teacher enunciates the proposi- 
tion: lines which are perpendicular to the same straight 
line are parallel; he explains this on the black-board, 



240 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

and by means of the rule and set square, makes several 
applications of it. 

2. Ij a series of parallel lines divide a secant into any 
number o) equal parts, they divide also any other secant 
into equal parts. After explaining the terms of this 
proposition, the teacher makes use of it to divide a line 
into a certain number of equal parts. 

Another method of procedure consists in first con- 
structing the figure and then deducing the principle from 
the diagram. Thus having erected a perpendicular 
at the middle point of a straight line, the teacher shows 
the pupils that by placing the leg of the compasses at 
any point of the perpendicular, an arc can be described 
which will always pass through the extremities of the 
straight line: this proves that any point of the perpen- 
dicular is equidistant from the extremities of the straight 
line. 

These principles should be learned and repeated by 
the pupils, and enunciated when explaining problems 
in mechanical drawing. For instance, in the question: 
Describe an arc passing through two fixed points, one 
of which is situated on a given straight line, the teacher 
explains that the problem consists in finding the centre 
of the arc to be described. Now (i) this centre will 
be found in a perpendicular to the line joining the given 
points; (2) it must be situated at equal distances from 
the two given points. There are here two principles 
to be applied, and the pupils should state them at the 
proper time in working the problem. 

In the higher classes the finding of areas and volumes 
might be followed by elementary problems on the circle, 
pyramid, cone, and sphere. The important formulas 
should be memorized without demonstration, and ap- 
pHed to numerous exercises. However, if the pupils 
were sufficiently inteUigent, it would be advisable to 
prove and study the principal theorems relating to the 
properties of perpendiculars, parallels, tangents, pro- 
portional lines, equivalent and similar figures, and to 
give applications of them. This study should be limited 



DRAWING. 241 

to fundamental theorems. It would have the twofold 
advantage of initiating the pupils into the art of reason- 
ing, and helping them to understand better the principles 
of geometrical drawing. 



CHAPTER X. 

DRAWING. 

I. — ^Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Drawing demands that 
the eye examine with attention an object in order to 
find out its dimensions and relative proportions. The 
draughtsman employs his judgment and reason in com- 
paring the different parts of a model, his imagination 
and (Esthetic jaculties in combining artistically known 
forms, and his hand in tracing out the conceptions of 
the creative faculty. 

Principles to be followed. In teaching drawing: 

1. The eye and the hand must be trained to observe 
exactly, and reproduce what was seen; hence practice 
should be given in subdividing lines, enlarging figures, 
etc. The figures ought to be taken from nature. 

2. The intelhgence and imagination of pupils should 
be exercised by questioning them on the principal Hues, 
their directions, and proportions; and getting them to 
suggest new combinations. Such questions will obHge 
them to attend, to reflect, and to observe. 

3. The aesthetic sense or power to perceive the beauti- 
ful should be trained. The school-room walls ought to 
be adorned with good drawings, engravings, and photo- 
graphs; and neat, well-proportioned black-board models 
ought to be exhibited at each lesson. 

4. The pupils should be given an elementary knowl- 
edge of the laws and forms of the beautiful. This 



242 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

knowledge will help them to appreciate works of 
art. 

II. — General Observations. 

Aim of drawing in the primary classes. The aim 

of this instruction in primary classes is to train the 
aesthetic sense of the child, to develop his faculty of 
observation, and above all to furnish him with the means 
of expressing his ideas with ease, by sketches represent- 
ing the various objects connected with the dwelling- 
house, furniture, utensils, and local industries. Draw- 
ing ought not to be considered merely an accomplish- 
ment, or a means of favoring an artistic vocation, but 
an every-day and practical art, and an indispensable 
mode of expression in modern industry, a writing down 
of material forms. 

In teaching this branch, the teacher should endeavor 
to make the pupil acquire manual dexterity and great 
precision in visual observation. This second result is 
much more important than the first; for, correct obser- 
vation — the talent of seeing exactly — is an indispensa- 
ble qualification for a good draughtsman. 

Characteristics of a good method of drawing. A 

good method should: 

1. Afford interesting and well-graduated exercises. 

2. Be suited to the capacity of the majority of the 
pupils of the class. 

3. Render very difficult, if not impossible, the servile 
copying of shaded engravings, and lithographs; and by 
the choice of models, give much exercise in educating 
the sense of sight, as well as the power of reflection 
and the personal initiative of the child. 

4. Without neglecting the theory relative to geo- 
metrical drawing and the rules of perspective, not spend 
too much time at them, but pass on rapidly to the 
practical parts, particularly if the pupils are to leave 
school at the age of thirteen or fourteen years. 

5. Lead the pupils to draw in perspective and par- 



DRAWING. 243 

ticularly in projection, natural objects and elementary 
ornaments. 

The defects to be avoided in teaching drawing are: 

1. Transforming simultaneous into individual teach- 
ing, each pupil having a different model and reproducing 
it according to his own fancy without effective ex- 
planations or corrections from the teacher who, under 
such circumstances, can give only a very short time to 
each child. 

2. Reproducing the models without changing the 
size, or by mechanical processes such as tracing paper, 
squared paper, or dividers. These processes have the 
serious disadvantage of not exercising sufficiently the 
pupil's faculty of observation, and of withdrawing his 
attention from the model as a whole, and from its gen- 
eral proportions. 

3. Getting the pupil to copy from engravings, or large 
drawings with compHcated details. 

III. — Models for Drawing. 

The usual models are: (i) drawings on the black- 
board; (2) large wall charts; (3) copybooks of designs; 
(4) natural objects. These different kinds of models 
may be used alternately during the drawing lessons, 
in order to make them more interesting. 

Drawings on the black-board. The pattern on the 
board is the best of all intuitive methods of teaching 
drawing. In the lower classes the teacher draws on the 
board almost all the patterns which the pupils are to 
reproduce. In the higher classes, the black-board is used 
for geometrical figures, theoretical explanations and 
sketches of certain details to which particular attention 
should be called, in order to give precise knowledge of 
special forms or to correct an error made by several 
pupils. The preparatory outline for a drawing from a 
wall chart or an object from nature, is also done on the 
black-board. 



244 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

The wall charts. These are drawings prepared be- 
forehand on large sheets of paper. The drawings made 
on the board have the advantage of allowing the pupils 
to see how the teacher begins, continues, and finishes 
his work; but these models are effaced after a short 
time, while those on the charts can be preserved indefi- 
nitely, and used several times. 

In imitation drawing, the models on the chart remain 
before the pupils during the whole work; but in geo- 
metrical drawing, the teacher takes away the model 
when the pupils have made a measured projection of it 
in the horizontal plane. It is by means of this projec- 
tion that they afterward work out their pattern according 
to a fixed scale. The mural chart, as well as the black- 
board models, should have the following qualities: 

1. It should be easily seen at a distance. The paper 
chosen should be white or very faintly tinted. The 
pattern must be drawn very large, with brush, crayons, 
or charcoal pencil, in a bold, vigorous outline. Its 
legibiUty will be increased if either the surface of the 
object drawn or its background has a water-color tint; 
but colors which are too bright or too sombre should be 
avoided. 

2. It should be graceful. A model cannot be too 
correct; children preserve the remembrance of first 
impressions. Hence models of good style ought to be 
selected; those wanting in elegance, naturalness, sim- 
plicity, or harmony of proportion should be rejected. 

3. The proportions should be simple. The models 
in elementary drawing should have simple proportions 
between their different parts. Thus the length might 
be to the breadth in the proportions of i to 2, 2 to 3, 
3 to 4, etc.; and such and such a detail may be a third, 
a fourth, a fifth, etc., of the total height of the model. 
Besides being less difficult for the pupils, these propor- 
tions facilitate the work of the teacher, and give him 
the opportunity of easily ascertaining whether the pupils 
have accurately done their work. 

4. It should present exclusively a geometrical view 



DRAWING. 245 

of the object, that is, it must not represent objects 
in perspective. When a perspective drawing is to be 
made, some object in nature should always be taken as 
a model, and represented as it appears to the spectator 
in whatever position he happens to be placed: this is the 
only way to learn perspective. A chart model shows 
only one view of an object out of the many it would offer 
according to the position of the spectator. Hence it is 
not advisable to reproduce these models frequently. 

Copybook models. Copybook models are collections 
of drawings, or measured horizontal projections, which 
the pupils are to reproduce on a different scale, changing 
them a little, or making them more complete. 

Objects from nature. These are the best of all 
models. For imitation drawing they comprise: surfaces 
and soUds in cardboard; casts of simple ornamentations; 
geometrical figures carved in wood, standing out in 
white rehef from a panel painted dark gray; familiar 
objects; natural or artificial leaves of various plants, etc. 
For geometrical drawing, the objects should be simple 
in form: a solid figure, a brick, a box, a Httle seat, a 
watering pot, an implement, a utensil, a plain piece of 
furniture, such as a desk or table, etc. 

IV.— Methods of Teaching. 

The principal methods of instruction in drawing, 
which may be used either alternately or combined, are: 

I. The model explained and drawn on the black- 
board. Each part of the model is drawn on black-board 
and then explained by the teacher, while the pupils 
reproduce it immediately, line by Hne, as it is drawn. 
The teacher passes in and out among the pupils, ob- 
serving if the explanations have been understood and 
put into practice. This method, which is good for 
beginners, leaves them Httle initiative; but it has the 
advantage of giving all the pupils a good method of 



246 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

setting about their work, and of bringing teacher and 
pupils into communication. In a large class, a skilful 
pupil may be placed between two less proficient; but his 
work should never go further than verbal instruction. 
It will then be sufficient for the teacher to correct the 
work of such monitors. In this way a uniformity in 
the general working of the class will be more easily 
attained.^ 

2. The model explained briefly at the beginning 
of the lesson. The teacher gives an oral explanation 
of the model exhibited before the class. He draws a 
rough sketch on the board, and if necessary the pupils 
take notes of the explanation; they then begin a copy 
of the drawing, according to scale and other given 
conditions. This method allows the pupils much 
initiative, but it is only suitable for those already skilful. 
It also allows a teacher who has not much time at his 
disposal, to give the lesson to several groups of pupils 
successively; one set works while the other receives 
explanations. This method may also be employed for 
tests or periodical competitions. 

3. The model in the pupil's book explained before 
being copied. A certain model is selected from the 
book; this must be copied, according to certain condi- 
tions of size and proportion determined beforehand by 
the teacher. According as these conditions are more or 
less detailed, the execution gives scope for a certain 
amount of initiative, on the part of each pupil. The 
work is also facihtated by the drawing, explanations, 
and questions of the teacher. This process may be 
employed in all grades of instruction. 

V. — Drawing in the Different Grades. 

General programme. The representation of an object 
just as it is seen with the deformations and illusions 
of perspective, is imitation or pictorial drawing. The 

Allow pupils to reproduce their work on the black-board occasionally. 



DRAWING. 247 

representation of the same object in its exact form and 
dimensions, whether reduced or not, by a conventional 
sketch which furnishes all the measurements and direc- 
tions that a workman would need for its reconstruction, 
is geometrical drawing. 

In imitation drawing, tracing instruments are reduced 
to a minimum; the pencil is almost the only implement; 
the eye and the hand play the most important part. 
In geometrical drawing, on the contrary, the ruler and 
compasses are continually used. Another kind of draw- 
ing which combines something of the other two is the 
measured horizontal projection or decorative: it is free- 
hand drawing with pencil or pen, which employs the 
conventional tracings of geometrical drawing. In the 
higher grades a neat copy of this projection might be 
often made by means of ruler and compasses. After 
beginning by elementary freehand exercises in copying 
flat models, the pupil gradually advances to drawing 
models in relief. He sketches measured horizontal 
projections, and when his hand is sufficiently skilled to 
use compasses, he practises geometrical drawing, which 
he continues up to the study of the theory and practice 
of projections. 

Lower primary grades. Here the pupils study succes- 
sively the point and its positions; the straight line, its 
directions, the method of dividing it into equal parts, 
the proportions between different lines; parallel, per- 
pendicular, and oblique lines; angles, their different 
sizes and positions; the square, the rectangle, the 
triangle, and a general idea of curves. Symmetrical 
combinations of these different elements, and outlines 
of common objects of simple shape complete the course. 

In the beginning, the attention of the pupils should 
be drawn more to the examination and observation of 
forms and colors than to precision in the tracings. Be- 
fore all, they must learn to observe, to compare, to see 
the points of similarity and dissimilarity, and the relative 
positions of objects set before them. The chief features 



248 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

and surfaces should be shown concretely, before being 
reproduced on the paper. For this purpose small sticks, 
slips of paper or cardboard surfaces, etc., are used. 
The models should be exposed to the view of the chil- 
dren while they are drawing them. 

Upper primary grades. The pupils begin what is 
commonly called drawing of ornament, because the sub- 
jects studied belong for the most part to the decorative 
art in its most elementary form. The exercises are 
grouped mainly around the four elements, the straight 
line, the circular or elliptical line, the sinuous line and 
the spiral. Each of these, either alone or in combina- 
tion, will afford varied and interesting models, which 
may be interwoven into drawings of flowers, leaves, 
shields, and plain but graceful vases. All these models 
are drawn on a flat surface. The teacher should also 
give some rudimentary ideas on the manner of har- 
moniously grouping simple decorative designs; and ex- 
ercises in symmetry, duplication, and alternation. From 
time to time the designs might be lightly colored. 

Lower grammar grades. The programme comprises: 

1. A more extended course on curves and spirals than 
that for the primary grades. 

2. Decorative tracings, and simple exercises in com- 
bining and grouping according to a proposed plan. 

3. Simultaneously with these studies, the copying of 
ornaments in bas-relief. These ornaments might be 
either in cardboard, wood, or plaster. 

4. The tracing of solids of large dimensions and high 
relief. 

The knowledge of perspective required by pupils may 
be acquired by observation alone, and without any 
scientific theory. The teacher directs this work of in- 
vestigation by starting from observed phenomena, and 
leading the pupils to deduce from these observations 
the principles of lineal drawing, and the proper placing 
of the shadows. These principles, worded with pre- 
cision, should be afterward constantly applied. 



DRAWING. . 249 

In this division easy exercises in geometrical drawing, 
might also be given; such as the plan of straight lines, 
parallels, perpendiculars, triangles, and polygons. From 
these the pupil learns to manipulate ruler, set square, 
and compasses. Cheap pencil compasses suffice for 
this kind of work. It is advisable to have each problem 
followed by practical applications, such as very simple 
designs for floor tiling, mosaic work, or inlaying. 

Higher grammar grades. The pupils of these grades 
should practise both imitation and geometrical drawing. 

Imitation drawing. The programme of the middle 
division is completed by elementary exercises in decora- 
tive grouping according to a given motive, and by the 
drawing of ornaments and objects in full relief: roses, 
leaves, mouldings, and ordinary objects; some sketches 
of leaves of plants drawn from nature may be added. 
It should be remembered that the proper placing of the 
whole and of each principal detail is the essential thing 
in object drawing; the shading though done with care 
and skill will add little to the value, if the outline be 
defective. 

Conventionalization means the process of modifying 
some natural object, e.g., a flower, leaf, or a whole plant 
so as to preserve only its general character, omitting 
unimportant details. Objects should be conventionalized 
occasionally. 

The operations to be performed when drawing objects 
from nature are: 

(a) Placing in proper position the chief features of the 
outline, (i) The drawing of a rectangle of proper size 
to support the model; (2) sketching the principal lines 
of the pattern after having examined attentively their 
position and respective distances; (3) gradually filling 
in details, continually correcting and improving the 
lines already drawn. 

{h) The arranging of the shading, (i) The limits of 
the shades and shadows are marked, and the whole 



250 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

mass of shades and shadows pencilled over of a uniform 
tone; (2) the light shades and shadows are put in without 
exaggerating them; (3) the dark shadows, placed at the 
characteristic points of the models, are emphasized, 
without being made too black. 

From time to time, the pupils may be asked to execute 
from memory some models which they have already 
copied, or household objects of simple form. 

Geometrical drawing. Each pupil of the grammar 
grade should have a set of geometrical drawing in- 
struments. The programme comprises problems on 
finding the ground-plan of intersecting lines, followed 
by exercises; ground-plan of mouldings; and horizontal 
and vertical projections drawn to scale. The pupils 
on leaving this grade should know the elements of 
projections. The groundwork of this instruction must 
be the direct observation of objects, but the teacher 
should not delay too long on abstract explanations and 
unusual figures. After a short study of the principal 
cases of projections of lines, surfaces, and complete 
or truncated solids, the teacher takes up the projection 
of simple objects: benches, easels, trestles, small articles 
of furniture, different kinds of carpentry work, parts of 
machinery, and plans for dwellings. 

Sketching from nature is preferable to the best draw- 
ings done from a flat pattern. The following method 
is suitable for this kind of drawing: 

The teacher exhibits the object to be drawn; it should 
be large enough to have its details perceived by all the 
class. He draws it on the black-board, or has it drawn 
by one of the pupils, and gives all the explanations 
necessary for its tracing. At the same time, the pupils 
draw in their books a freehand pencil sketch of the pat- 
tern done on the board. When the sketch is finished 
the teacher measures or has measured the dimensions 
of the object, and writes them on the black-board; as he 
states them the pupils write them on their sketch. The 
drawing on the board is then erased, and each pupil 



DRAWING. 251 

draws the object neatly and according to scale, making 
use of his own sketch. 

School exhibit. In some schools it is customary to 
exhibit along the walls a certain number of the best 
drawings done during the year. The exhibition ought 
to be composed of a selection of drawings from the 
whole school, a certain wall-space being allotted to each 
class. It will show the methodical and progressive 
advance of the instruction from the simplest efforts of 
the little ones to the exact drawings of the advanced. 
In such exhibits quality should always be preferred to 
quantity; and work hable to provoke criticism ought not 
to be shown, particularly if it goes beyond the school 
requirements. Drawing is the principal element of 
the annual exhibit; but it would be well to have also 
geographical sketches, specimens of writing, exercise 
copybooks, manual work, etc. 

VI. — Kmdergarten. 

The Kindergarten gifts may be used with advantage 
as a means of giving recreative and useful employment 
to young pupils. The gifts are generally specified by 
numbers. 

Gift I. consists of six rubber balls covered with thread 
representing the rainbow colors: red, yellow, blue, green, 
violet, and orange. It is intended to teach color, form 
of the simplest kind, politeness, direction to the right, 
to the left, up and down. A conversational lesson on 
some familiar object might be given in connection with 
this gift. Each lesson ought to finish by a game, such 
as throwing and catching the balls, etc.; the various 
games might be accompanied by songs. 

Gift II. consists of a sphere, a cylinder, a cone, and a 
cube. These objects are in wood; and by comparing 
and contrasting them the pupils get an idea of forms, 
and of the meaning of the expressions, square, line. 



252 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

angle. A conversation lesson on wood, and drawing 
lessons might be given at this stage. The drawing 
lessons should consist of the simplest tracings, lines, 
squares, circles, etc.; and dotted paper should be used. 
Games, music, and little rhymes might be taught in 
connection with these exercises. 

Gift III. consists of a cube divided into eight one-inch 
cubes. Children are fond of analyzing things, and this 
tendency can be satisfied by the third gift. It teaches 
the meaning of whole and part, gives ideas of size, of 
number, and of direction: above, below, before, etc. 
With this gift the pupils can build for7ns of life : crosses, 
arches, chairs, benches. The first ideas of number may 
be given by counting, adding, and subtracting the little 
cubes; and also a knowledge of equal parts, half, etc. 
Object lessons on matches, lead pencils, etc., may be 
given; and drawing on dotted paper should be con- 
tinued. 

Gift IV. consists of a cube equal in size to the cube of 
the third gift, but divided into bricks, the length of each 
being twice its width and four times its thickness. By 
placing two of these bricks face to face, it will be seen 
that they are exactly equal in size to two small cubes 
of the third gift; hence the brick is equal in volume to 
the cube. The pupils can be given ideas of equal parts, 
of divisions one-half, one-fourth, one-eighth, and of 
words length, breadth, height with the third and fourth 
gifts; and more complicated forms of life, knowledge, 
and beauty can be shown. 

Gift V. is a development of the third. It consists 
of a large cube divided into twenty-seven one-inch 
cubes, three of which are divided diagonally into half, 
and three into quarter cubes. It teaches the forms of 
acute and right angles, of triangles, perpendiculars, and 
slanting lines. Windows, doors, chairs, etc., may be 
formed with this gift, and their elevations may be drawn 
on dotted paper, under the direction of the teacher. 



DRAWING. 253 

Gift VI. is a development of the fourth. In this gift 
the large cube is divided into twenty-seven bricks : eigh- 
teen of them are whole, six are divided into square 
blocks by being cut in the direction of the breadth, and 
three are divided into columns by a lengthwise section. 
More intricate forms of life can be built than is possible 
with the fourth gift, and the objects built should be 
drawn on paper by the pupils. 

In the preceding six gifts the objects are solid bodies — 
three dimensions. The seventh gift consists of quad- 
rangular and triangular tablets of stiff, colored paper, 
presenting only two dimensions, and serves as a transi- 
tion from concrete to abstract teaching. The pupils 
learn to compare the surfaces and angles of the quad- 
rangular and triangular tablets, with the faces of the 
cubes and half cubes; afterward they build up sym- 
metrical, colored designs, and reproduce them on dotted 
paper. When these gifts and the lessons suggested in 
connection with them have been taught, the teacher 
might give exercises in stick-laying, paper-folding, 
weaving and braiding, etc. A conversational object 
lesson on paper might be given in connection with this 
gift. 

A useful ''game" may be contrived with gifts III. to 
VI. The teacher builds houses representing stores, and 
pointing to one of these imaginary stores says: ''This 
is a candy store. John, come and ask for a cent's worth 
of candy." The children should be taught how to ask 
for and receive things. At the next lesson some pupils 
might act as store-keepers, others as purchasers; and 
both parties should be taught how to act and speak. 

It must not be forgotten that the gifts form the least 
part of what is called Kindergarten teaching; indeed, 
they are only the "recreative employments." All les- 
sons in lower primary classes ought to be taught accord- 
ing to Kindergarten principles, and associated with one 
another; after explaining the first gift the teacher might 
choose a green ball, and print on the black-board sen- 
tences like, the ball is round, it is green and light, it will 



254 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

roll on the -floor, and have these sentences as the matter 
of the reading lesson, and one of them as a head-line for 
the writing lesson; the balls will serve for counting at 
the lesson on numbers. 



VII.— Manual Work. 

Manual work, auxiliary and complementary to 
drawing. Manual instruction and drawing mutually 
help each other, and it is advantageous to carry them 
on simultaneously. Sometimes a pupil draws a model 
which he himself has made of sticks, strips of paper, 
cardboard, etc.; and some,times he makes a cardboard 
model of a drawing specially prepared with a view to 
manual work, that is, having clearly defined measure- 
ments and proportions. 

Manual instruction has the same object as drawing; 
it aids very much in the education of the senses, par- 
ticularly the sight and the touch; it encourages natural 
aptitudes of precision and good taste. It shows that 
drawing is not merely a combination of lines, colors, 
and shadows, but the representation of material objects 
that can be constructed. It may also be used in making 
clear and concrete the first abstractions in arithmetic 
and geometry. Exercises in folding or in carving are 
often the proof or the application of geometric principles 
relating to the square, the rectangle, or the triangle. In 
addition, manual instruction provides a useful and agree- 
able relaxation which might be reserved for that time of 
the day when the pupils are tired of study. 

Advice relating to manual instruction. In order to 
be practical, the exercises in manual instruction ought 
not to require costly material or cumbersome tools, or to 
occupy too much time. Toward the end of the school 
year, a little more time may be given to it than during 
the first months. The best made objects might be ex- 
hibited in the class-room, replacing them from time to 
time by new work. 



AGRICULTURE. 255 

In the primary and grammar grades, manual instruction 
is a useful relaxation and means of occupation for the 
activity of the pupil. It consists in the arrangement of 
sticks, strips of paper, or of geometrical figures in 
colored paper. In the middle and higher grades the 
work becomes proportionately more difficult. The fold- 
ings, cuttings, and weavings, executed in a more exact 
manner than in the lower grades, are followed by the 
construction of solids in cardboard, modeUing, wire- 
work, etc. 



CHAPTER XL 
AGRICULTURE. 

Aim and character of agricultural teaching. The 

principal aim of agricultural instruction is to awaken in 
the child the faculties of observation, research, and ex- 
perimentation; to prepare him to understand and reason 
out the various processes of cultivation, and, consequent- 
ly, to draw from the land better and more abundant 
crops. It is a means of making agriculture loved even 
by pupils who may not be destined to live in the country 
habitually, and of combating routine and prejudice, 
which so often prevent the agricultural population from 
benefiting by discoveries and improvements. Another 
aim of agricultural instruction should be to make field 
labor appreciated, and thus diminish the emigration 
into large cities. 

Agricultural instruction is usually given by means of 
object lessons; it should be both theoretical and practical. 
The theoretical part is for the higher classes only, and 
consists of elementary notions of botany and agricultural 
chemistry; the practical portion consists ot tillage ex- 
periments made principally in the school garden. 

It would certainly be going too far to try to explain 
to the children of a primary class all the resources opened 



256 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

up by natural science for agricultural operations; never- 
theless the pupils should know something about nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, potassium, and lime, before studying 
the subject of manures; and the fertilizing action of 
these substances ought to be shown by comparison of 
results obtained in garden-plots, boxes, or flower-pots. 
After having proved, by experiments, that a plant is a 
living organism which has need of nourishment to de- 
velop, some very simple concrete lessons might be given 
on the growth, alimentation, and propagation of plants. 

The agricultural museum. To give interest to his 
lessons and make them practical, the teacher might 
show the pupils well-chosen specimens, soils, seeds, 
plants, etc., illustrating the part of the subject which he 
teaches. A course in agriculture, even of the most 
elementary kind, supposes the organization of an agri- 
cultural museum. The teacher ought to collect different 
kinds of soils, and preserve them in labelled glass vessels. 
He may obtain from local merchants samples of seeds 
and artificial manures; and from the neighboring farmers 
plants peculiar to the locality. He will find it useful to 
have wall charts representing agricultural implements, 
plants, and animals. 

The lesson in agriculture. The lesson in agriculture 
can be given with or without a book. In the first case, 
the oral explanation should be followed by a written 
summary of the principal points for study. There are 
two ways of making use of a text-book: (i) After the oral 
lesson, it is read aloud, and the teacher explains the 
text referring to the subject just treated of; (2) the 
pupils read in their text-book the subject of the lesson; 
the difficult terms are explained as they occur, and some 
short observations may be added. 

Whichever process is adopted in giving the lesson, 
the teacher should bring to class samples kept in the 
agricultural museum, or specimens cultivated in the 
school garden. He should perform elementary experi- 
ments, suitable to the subject, comparing the method 



AGRICULTURE. 257 

shown in class with those followed by farmers in the 
locality; but he must bear in mind that certain principles 
and processes are not equally applicable in all parts of 
the country. The better to impress his teaching, he 
might conduct the pupils to gardens or farms in the 
neighborhood, as often as circumstances permit; he 
can there recall the lessons given in class, and, by 
practical remarks, develop in the children the habit of 
observation.^ The dictations, compositions, and arith- 
metic lessons might often have for subject, in rural 
schools, agricultural elements, as the yield of a poultry 
yard, a hive or a crop, the cost of seeds and sowing, 
the harvest produce, etc.; and all these exercises should 
be in connection with the monthly programme in agri- 
culture. 

Primary classes. The work of this grade is prin- 
cipally a preparation for the more important instruction 
to be given to the grammar grades. With very young 
children, it is necessary to appeal to the eye, and to 
make the explanations concrete, by showing the objects. 
Hence plants of the locality ought to be procured: 
wheat, rye, oats, barley, flax, poppy, wild mustard, etc. 
By this means the pupils acquire much useful informa- 
tion. 

After having shown and named the plant, the different 
parts are pointed out: root, stem, buds, leaves, flowers. 
Some explanations, easily understood by young children, 
are given on the functions of each organ. Details which 
would be suitable for the lower grammar grades, such, 
for instance, as the nutrition of plants, the elements 
absorbed by them, and whence they are derived, etc., 
should not be given to primary classes. Instead of 
these the teacher might show how a seed germinates 
and how the young plant develops; these little experi- 
ments, besides being necessary, excite the curiosity of 
the pupils and leave a lasting impression on their minds. 

^ Children might bring seeds, or teacher supply various kinds of seeds 
to the pupils — have them sow the seeds in boxes prepared — watch and 
study growth in the different stages. 



258 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

For instance, a transparent glass vessel is filled with 
moistened moss or sawdust; a fairly large seed, such as a 
pea or a bean is placed on the sawdust near the side of the 
vessel. By keeping the vessel at a suitable temperature, 
the little plumule and radicle soon appear. While the 
first grows upward, the second descends and branches 
out all round the inside of the vessel. The children will 
realize the phenomenon of germination, and will follow 
with interest the different phases of growth. 

The pupils might also be present at the sowing of 
different kinds of seed in a border of the school garden; 
they might sometimes count the number of seeds sown, 
and later those that come up; the natural deduction will 
be, that some have germinated, and others have not. 
This fact being established, the cause should be as- 
certained: either the seeds were not all sound, or they 
were buried too deep. Three questions naturally arise: 
when are seeds sound? when bad? why do they not 
come up when buried too deep? These examples suf- 
fice to show how young children may be prepared for 
the lessons in agriculture that they will receive later. 

Lower and higher grammar grades. Without prac- 
tical demonstrations, lessons in agriculture would be 
of little use. At the same time, while it is advanta- 
geous to have experiment plots close to the school, 
the true field of operations is the surrounding country. 
The pupil has seen tillage operations; but he does not 
know why furrows are more or less deep. He knows 
vaguely that, without manure, crops would not be 
abundant; but has no idea that there are in the same 
neighborhood cultivable soils differing in composition; 
that, according to their composition, they are more or 
less fertile, and that there are means of improving them. 
Although he may be able to distinguish between natural 
and artificial meadows, he probably does not know how 
the latter are produced, and the constant care they 
require. He sees that, on the same piece of ground, 
crops are rotated, but he does not know the reason of it. 
All such points should be explained to him. 



SINGING. 259 

The teacher ought to endeavor to be useful to the peo- 
ple among whom he lives. For instance, if he v^ishes to 
give information about cultivable land, he should find 
out precisely the nature of the soil, as well as its quali- 
ties and defects, in order to be able to indicate with cer- 
tainty the best methods for improving it. The require- 
ments of certain districts may oblige him to specialize 
his teaching. In one district he may have to explain 
the mode ot cultivation for the different sorts of cereals 
or of leguminous crops, and the conditions necessary 
for their successful growth; in another, the plants used 
in industries, the manure suitable for each, their culti- 
vation and uses. Elsewhere, more attention will be de- 
voted to arboriculture: the selection, planting, pruning, 
and grafting of trees, the artificial means of propagating 
them, and the treatment they require when diseased. 
The course should also comprise lessons on useful in- 
sects and weeds, and on injurious insects and weeds, 
specially chosen from among those found in the neigh- 
borhood. 



CHAPTER XII. 
SINGING. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. The object of vocal 
music is voice culture. It improves the hearing, and 
acts on the sensibility by developing and perfecting 
the power of appreciating the good and the beautiful; 
it acts also on religious and patriotic feeling. As an art, 
music is subject to the laws of aesthetics. 

Principles to be followed. Lessons in music should: 
(i) Suitably exercise the vocal organs; (2) be simple 
and harmonious; (3) appeal to the sensibility, elevate 
the soul, and cultivate good taste; (4) be accompanied 
by playing on an instrument, preferably the violin. 



26o ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



II.— General Remarks on the Teaching of Singing. 

Its educational use. Singing has an educational in- 
fluence that teachers ought to utiHze. When well con- 
ducted, it trains the sensibility and opens the heart 
to the most diversified impressions: sentiments of joy 
and of gentle melancholy, of recollection and piety, are 
aroused by hymns and canticles of the church; en- 
thusiasm is excited by patriotic songs; a healthy gayety 
by lively tunes. Singing must be made to help in the 
moral and intellectual education of the pupils. It is 
of the greatest importance to train the child's aesthetic 
sense, to make him appreciate and seek what is truly 
beautiful; to put him on his guard against vulgar and 
low-class productions to which he may sometimes listen 
and to give him a distaste for anything approaching 
immoral songs. Those songs should be avoided which 
cannot be presented in decent society without suppres- 
sions and arrangements; singing them in public is a 
manner of advertising them, and of indirectly soliciting 
the pupils to procure them for themselves. 

Liturgical chant. The liturgical chant is a method 
of prayer; hence the stamp of simplicity and adoration it 
bears. It is melody in its most natural and most ex- 
pressive form. It adds the unison of voices to the union 
of hearts, and one of its qualities is its fidelity in trans- 
lating the varied sentiments of the divine Office. 

Plain chant should be taught in Catholic schools, as 
the pupils, particularly those of the senior classes, are 
frequently expected to take part in the singing in church. 
The good rendering of plain chant supposes the correct 
reading of the Latin words, and a general understanding 
of the text. At all singing lessons, the teacher should 
insist that the pupils sing softly; he must not allow them 
to shout, or even to give the full volume and intensity 
of their voices. 

The pupils should be taught only a small number of 



SINGING. 261 

liturgical pieces; they must not be allowed to pass from 
one to another, until a satisfactory rendering is obtained, 
so that it may be possible to give an almost faultless 
pubHc performance of them. When this point of per- 
fection has been reached, care should be taken that 
routine and other defects caused by negligence are not 
allowed to creep in. 

Hymns. The singing of hymns is very useful in the 
work of education. It prepares the souls of the children 
to receive divine grace; and disposes them for prayer. 
But these effects will be produced only when the sing- 
ing is well executed. It must be done softly, and the 
movement must be neither hurried nor drawling. Sing- 
ing in this way is an excellent means of training the 
voice, and the only way of obtaining precision and uni- 
son. Singing hymns is an aid to recollection, and be- 
comes a prayer if attention is paid to the meaning of the 
words. 

Remarks, i. An important condition for the giving of 
suitable expression is to be deeply penetrated with the 
general character of the hymns. They are, according 
to the subject, pleasant or grave, simple or majestic, 
calm or emotional. A hymn on death, for instance, 
requires different expression from one on the happiness 
of heaven, which may be in the same key, measure, and 
movement. 

2. As hymns are chanted prayers and instructions, a 
sentiment of piety should give them a special stamp, 
thus essentially distinguishing them from profane songs. 
Before putting the words to a tune, it is useful to read 
or to have them read aloud, insisting on good articulation. 
A rapid analysis of them may be made, to facilitate 
their due understanding and to show the beauty of the 
ideas and sentiments. 

3. A hymn produces its full effect only when it is 
known nearly by heart, which means that it must be 
frequently repeated. 

4. The teacher should not have a hymn sung in church 



262 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

unless the preparation has been sufficient to insure its 
being properly executed. 

Secular music. It would be advisable that each 
school have a repertoire of secular songs to be utilized on 
the occasion of school festivals, such as the visit of a 
bishop or other ecclesiastic or benefactor, at the dis- 
tribution of prizes, etc.; or to be sung at family gather- 
ings. 

Too much care cannot be given to the choice of 
pieces for one, two, or three voices, with regard to the 
ideas conveyed, the words which express them, and 
the music by which they are interpreted. The minds 
of children must be raised and their taste formed; it is 
then from the works of good composers that the pieces 
to be studied should be selected. The ideas should be 
moral, clearly and correctly expressed, and ought to 
convey a lesson easy to perceive. As has been said of 
the singing of hymns, it is advisable to have the text 
read aloud and analyzed before having it sung. 

The degree of difficulty of the piece chosen should be 
considered by the teacher, according to the materials 
he has at his disposal. A very simple chorus, well under- 
stood and well executed, will be more pleasing to the 
performers and to the audience than one more difficult, 
but badly rendered. For public singing, it is not enough 
to have the rendering almost correct; but it is neces- 
sary to attend to the musical indications and expression 
which complete the rendering by adding a certain ar- 
tistic charm. 

III. — The Singing Lesson. 

Good rendition in singing. Whatever be the sub- 
ject of the singing lesson, the teacher should always 
have the piece well executed. The following recom 
mendations on this subject are important: 

I. Pupils should not lean forward when singing but 
hold their heads up and keep the chests expanded. 



SINGING. 263 

2. Screams and forcing of the voice must be avoid- 
ed, as they render singing disagreeable and incorrect. 
Children are naturally inclined to sing with a chest 
voice; they must be taught to use the head voice. One 
means of obliging them to do this is sometimes to raise 
the key a half tone or a tone. 

3. Much importance ought to be attached to clearness 
of articulation and purity of pronunciation. In certain 
localities articulation is very clear, but the pronunciation 
is defective; in others the articulation is less good, but 
the pronunciation is better. An effort should be made 
to correct these defects, by pointing them out and giving 
useful exercises. 

4. The softer the singing, the more distinct should 
be the articulation. 

5. The means of obtaining satisfactory harmony and 
uniformity is to observe the time as accurately as pos- 
sible; for this purpose each note and rest must receive 
their exact value. The pupils should begin and end to- 
gether and listen to each other singing, each satisfying 
himself that he does not go more quickly or more slowly 
than the others. 

6. Care must be taken that the different parts in a 
choir be properly balanced, and that the melody be not 
obscured and absorbed by the accompaniment.* 

7. It is important that the attack be bold; to secure 
this it is an advantage to have at the head of each 
division of the choir some practised singers to give the 
lead to the others. 

8. The pupils should attend exactly to the musical 
indications. In the forte passages, they must not go be- 
yond the natural power of their voices, or try to domi- 
nate the other singers. 

9. What gives expression to singing is the sense of 

the words, and the indications marked by the composer 

for the interpretation of the melody. The teacher 

1 For balance of parts, a choir of twenty-five voices may be divided in 
the following way: Sopranos 12, altos 4, tenors 4. basses 5; and in a like 
proportion for any number of voices. Thus, a choir of fifty voices may be 
divided: Sopranos 25, altos 7, tenors 8, basses 10. 



264 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

should enter into the spirit of the piece, attend to these 
indications, and get the pupils to attend to them. 

Preparatory and primary classes. As speaking is 
learned before reading, so singing may be learned 
before knowing the principles of music. On their 
entrance into the school, young pupils should be exer- 
cised in singing by the auditory method, until their age 
permits of their studying solfeggio. This early educa- 
tion trains the ear and helps the pupils to sing softly. 
The teacher ought to make a selection of short, easy, 
musical airs: little poems elegant in style, moral in tone, 
and relating to children's games, scenes from nature, 
the Christian virtues, and patriotic reminiscences. The 
tunes should be melodious, of good rhythm, and easily 
within the range of the voices. 

The following method is suitable for teaching songs 
to very young children: 

1. The teacher writes on the board a fragment of the 
text, has it read, and explains its meaning. 

2. He sings two or three times consecutively, the first 
bars of the piece forming a musical phrase. 

3. He has these few bars repeated by a group of the 
best singers first, then by the whole class, and sufficiently 
slowly to accustom the ear to certain portions of greater 
difficulty. 

4. The teacher sings a second phrase, has it repeated 
in the same way, then connects it with the first, and so 
on. 

During the execution of these songs simple explana- 
tions of musical signs may be given, to initiate the young 
pupils into the theory of solfeggio; but these explana- 
tions should be few at each lesson. Attention must also 
be paid to the defects of the different voices, in order to 
correct them; and to avoid fatiguing the children, the 
songs and tunes ought to be short. 

Lower and higher grammar grades. Although the 
study of music may begin earlier, it is only from the age 
of nine or ten that children's voices can be cultivated. 



SINGING. 265 

These voices may be divided into three categories: 
the soprano or first treble, mezzo-soprano or second 
treble, and the contralto. The first and second trebles 
should not use the chest voice except from low do to 
medium sol; the first should use the head voice from 
sol to la above the staff, and the second from sol to 
mi. The real contralto voice extends from low sol to 
si and even to do. The voices ought to be grouped at 
the beginning of the school year; it would be well to 
examine them once or twice a year, and make the neces- 
sary changes in the groups. 

The time devoted to the teaching of singing scarcely 
permits any attention to musical difficulties. What is 
of most importance for school-children is that they 
acquire the elementary knowledge necessary to enable 
them to read a simple song, or to take part in a choir, 
or to learn to play an instrument. This knowledge will 
be sufficient for most of the pupils, and will serve as a 
foundation for the more extended studies which some 
among them may pursue. 

Hints for the singing lesson. The lesson should be 
divided between solfeggio exercises and the study of 
songs with words. ^ 

For the solfeggio exercises the teacher has: (i) The 
notes named; (2) two or three of the most skilful pupils 
to read the piece in time to insure rhythm, and then 
the whole class to do the same; (3) the most difficult 
intervals of the piece sung from a scale written on the 
black-board;^ (4) the piece sung by groups at first, and 
then by all together. The group chosen to sing first 
should be composed of the children with the most exact 

1 Figured and lettered music: In the primary schools of a few countries 
figured or lettered notations are employed. The advantage claimed by 
such systems is that the children learn to sing very soon, the musical signs 
being very simple, and all the scales being referred to one, by means of an 
indication placed at the beginning of the piece, marking to which note the 
do of the tuning fork corresponds. But a knowledge of the staff notation 
is indispensable for pupils who wish to learn to play an instrument. Let- 
tered music suffices for children in the junior classes. 

2 Or from a modulator, if the tonic-solfa is taught. 



266 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

and pleasing voices. For airs accompanied by words, 
the teacher first explains the words, and then sings them 
himself to show the proper expression, before making 
the pupils sing. It is better to have few songs, but to 
have them perfectly known; otherwise the pupils will 
preserve only a few unconnected pieces of what they 
have learned. 

In order to insure progress, the teacher should attend 
to the following points: 

1. To explain but few difficulties at a time, and to 
review some of those already studied. 

2. To dwell on the difficulties in each category: 
reading the notes, intonation, rhythm, etc. Many pupils 
lose their time, and get a dislike for the solfeggio class, 
through not having the first difficulties explained. 

3. To give numerous exercises bearing upon any one 
special difficulty; for this purpose hymns and songs 
illustrating the difficulty may be taught. 

4. To teach children to breathe regularly and deeply; 
this is necessary for physical health and comfort, as 
well as for the good rendition of melodies. 

5. To have the exercises gone through by small groups, 
and even by individuals, as otherwise the pupils never 
acquire the necessary confidence. 

6. During the first lessons in the lower grammar grades, 
to give a great deal of time to the auditory method, by 
getting hymns and songs learned in the manner pointed 
out for the primary classes. 

7. To vary the exercises, by alternating, in the higher 
classes, reading of notes recto tono, singing in different 
keys, laa-ing and koo-ing, exercises in rhythm, etc., 
always graduating the difficulties in each kind of ex- 
ercise. These exercises may be written on the black- 
board. 

8. As in other subjects, to make use of every means to 
excite and maintain emulation. 

Musical dictation. When pupils are sufficiently ad- 
vanced they may be exercised in musical dictation. It 
may be carried on in two ways, orally and by writing. 



PHYSICAL DRILL. 267 

For oral dictation, the teacher sings to la a very- 
short phrase of a song or hymn tune known to the pupils; 
and having given the do, he has them name succes- 
sively from memory, the notes of the phrase. Having 
obtained this result, the teacher again sings to la the 
same phrase, and beats time, and the pupils name and 
tell the value of the notes sung. 

For written dictation, when the pupils have acquired 
the habit of copying music, the teacher dictates a series 
of notes and tells them their value, semibreves, min- 
ims, crotchets, etc. When these notes are written, he 
directs the pupils to place correctly the bars according 
to the time indicated: common time, three-fourths, two- 
fourths, etc. Later on, he may require them to re- 
produce from memory and in correct notation, short, 
well-known melodies. The teacher first vocalizes the 
piece in its entirety, and the pupils must recognize the 
key, mode, and time; the dictation is then given, bar 
after bar being vocalized, each phrase terminating by 
the first note of the following bar. These various ex- 
ercises should first be explained on the black-board. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PHYSICAL DRILL. 

I. — Faculties and Principles. 

Faculties to be developed. Drill directly exercises 
the physical activities, and indirectly the moral and in- 
tellectual ones. The intellect should as far as possible 
understand the reason and utility of each movement, 
and the will must obey the commands promptly. The 
child is thus accustomed to overcome difficulties. 

Principles to be followed. The series of physical ex- 
ercises should be: I. Practical. They should strengthen 
the muscles, promote health, and contribute to the 



268 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

social education of pupils. They are not intended to 
train athletes or acrobats. 

2. Rational and not empirical. The teacher must 
have sufficient knowledge of physiology to know the 
effect of given movements on certain organs, the best 
time and place in which exercises should be given, etc. 

3. Suitable. The teacher should prescribe special 
exercises for certain pupils; for example to develop weak 
chests, he might multiply respiratory movements, etc. 
The organs must be exercised successively, alternately, 
and progressively. 

4. Performed as perfectly as possible, and accom- 
panied by music. 

II. — General Considerations on Gymnastics. 

Function and utility. Muscular activity is the main- 
spring of the physical development of the child; it urges 
him to frequent movement; stimulates the regular 
circulation of the blood; strengthens the muscles, and 
gives vigor to the whole frame. To repress this activity 
too long, instead of directing and furnishing it with a suit- 
able outlet, is to disregard its providential origin. Con- 
sequently, the periods of inaction imposed on pupils by 
the school regulations should not be unduly prolonged; 
young children especially should often change exercises. 
To change places, to sit down, to stand up, etc., con- 
stitute for them an indispensable relaxation. On the 
other hand, games, particularly those called athletic, 
which require exertion, are considered essential to the 
physical education of the child. Besides, from the 
moral and intellectual points of view, they procure 
advantages which contribute not a little to their im- 
portance. 

However, gymnastics have the advantage over games 
of exercising alternately and in a rational way all the 
muscles of the body, instead of acting only upon some 
of them. They constitute, so to speak, the science of 
bodily movements. Gymnastics are necessary for the 



PHYSICAL DRILL. 269 

normal development of the organs, the activity of circula- 
tion and assimilation, and the prevention or correction 
of physical defects. Gymnastic exercises make the mus- 
cles supple, and give a free gait and movement. 

Practical remarks, i. During gymnastic exercises, 
silence is to be observed. 

2. These lessons should not be given too soon after 
meals. 

3. The lessons should be given in the open air. In 
severe weather, they may be given under shelter. 

4. No child ought to be habitually dispensed from 
physical exercise, unless on account of infirmity or by 
the doctor's directions. 

5. During the lessons, the teacher should exercise an 
active supervision over the pupils, in order to prevent 
accidents. 

6. Exercises such as hand, wrist, arm, and body move- 
ments are chiefly necessary for the little children. 

7. Children should not be allowed to enter too vio- 
lently into the exercises. 

III. — Teaching of G3annastics. 

In the primary classes, gymnastics generally consist 
of simultaneous exercises. 

Primary classes. With small children it would be ad- 
visable to devote some of the short morning and afternoon 
recreations to marching or to elementary movements of 
the head, arms, and legs. Simple and well-chosen songs 
might accompany the movements, to give them spirit, 
and to help them to keep time. These exercises habituate 
the pupils to order and discipline. 

Grammar grades. When about ten years old the 
pupils receive the first regular lessons in gymnastics. 
Each lesson generally lasts half an hour. Special 
manuals contain graduated exercises for developing the 
limbs and making them supple. It is not necessary. 



270 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

and not always advisable, to perform every movement 
described in such books. Having made a prudent 
choice, the teacher ought often to put the pupils through 
the more useful movements, and to vary them in such 
a way as to exercise in turn, during the same lesson, the 
different parts of the body. 

The lesson. A preliminary exercise at all drill lessons 
is the alignment or dressing of the pupils according to 
height. In the lower grades the lesson begins by 
marching and similar exercises. In the more advanced 
classes it may begin, especially during cold weather, 
by marching in quick and double time. The second part 
of the lesson consists of different movements in position. 
The teacher arranges the pupils in one or several files, 
making them keep the distances required for the series 
of exercises they are about to go through. Before putting 
the class through an exercise the teacher should: 

1. Perform it himself. 

2. Point out briefly its aim. 

3. Explain its various parts. 

4. Have it performed by one of the pupils in the 
presence of his comrades. 

Then follows the simultaneous performance of the 
exercise, which should be gone through as often as re- 
quired. But when an exercise has for object the devel- 
opment of the body, it must be performed several times, 
even though it be perfectly executed. The teacher 
names the exercise, and having indicated the particular 
movement keeps all on the alert by calling out: Atten- 
tion f Then he adds the word: Ready! as a signal to 
start the exercise. To finish, he says: Ranks. . . . 
halt! These expressions may be replaced by a whistle. 
The marching is regulated by the words: Forward! and 
Halt! For all marching these two words may be used, 
as they have the advantage of being short, and admitting 
of much energy of expression. 

The teacher might occasionally group the pupils in 
different sections, putting monitors in charge, under 



PHYSICAL DRILL. 27 1 

his own supervision. He might also appoint a pupil 
to give the commands for the simultaneous exercises; 
this has the advantage of interesting the pupils in the 
lesson. 

There ought to be as great a variety of exercises as 
possible; and in order not to tire the children, a move- 
ment requiring great strain might be followed by an 
easy one. In general, the exercises requiring most effort 
should be performed about the middle of the lesson. 
The intervals for rest should be frequent, but not pro- 
longed; for, under certain conditions of temperature 
and place, there may be danger of chills. 

Expensive apparatus, such as the flying trapeze, the 
horse, ladders, parallel bars, etc., are not necessary ad- 
juncts of the elementary exercises just spoken of. But 
simple apparatus, such as dumb-bells, Indian clubs, 
bar-bells, rings, wands, etc., which are easily procured, 
may be used with advantage in all schools.^ 

1 In marching, see that the children hold themselves erect — shoulders 
thrown slightly back — chest forward and head upright — also that they 
walk on both heel and toe, not dragging their feet along the floor or 
ground. In preparatory classes a flag-drill might be introduced. 



PART V. 

DISCIPLINE. 

The discipline of a school insures good moral tone, 
progress, and work. Discipline is necessary for the 
child. It governs his will by making him submit to the 
yoke of an authority which he respects, and to the salu- 
tary restraints of ever-watchful supervision. Discipline 
is also necessary for the school, where it excites through 
emulation a sort of enthusiasm for study and virtue, at 
the same time that it opposes by moral force all viola- 
tion of rules. The authority of the teacher, the means 
of emulation, supervision, and repression, which are 
conditions necessary for the maintenance of discipline, 
will form the subject of the following chapters. 



CHAPTER I. 

AUTHORITY OF THE TEACHER. 

I. Nature and foundation of the teacher's authority. 

A truly educational authority is a moral authority. It 
has for foundation the esteem, respect, and affection of 
the pupils for the teachers; the art of commanding; and 
the cooperation of the parents. II. Precautions against 
the weakening of authority. To remove all that might 
lessen the respect due to the teacher, to remove what 
might lead to disorder; to make use of signals. 

273 



274 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

I.— The Authority of the Teacher. 

Nature of authority. The authority which a teacher 
exercises over his pupils excludes the idea of coercion 
that would do violence to the will by subjecting it 
forcibly to rules. Moral authority alone freely directs 
the soul toward good; it alone is effectual in the educa- 
tion of children. True authority is rather complex in 
its constituent elements. Resoluteness when a decision 
is to be made, rapid appreciation of a position, and 
natural aptness for command are doubtless favorable 
to the exercise of authority; but it is the ascendancy 
won for the teacher by his intellectual and professional 
qualities, and especially by the elevation of his character 
and virtue, that chiefly constitutes moral authority. 

Foundations of the moral authority of the teacher. 

To establish and maintain authority certain conditions 
are required, among which the following may be men- 
tioned: respect and esteem of pupils for their teacher; 
affection uniting them to him; gentleness and firmness; 
tact and constancy in the exercise of command; and 
cooperation of the parents of the pupils. 

Respect and esteem of pupils for their teacher. Chil- 
dren keep their eyes fixed on their teacher, and without 
being aware of it, they submit to his direction only 
because they see in him virtue and self-sacrifice, knowl- 
edge and talent. If he is a constant model of moral 
perfection, they respect and esteem him, and are incited 
to do good by the examples of virtue which they witness. 
On the other hand, though the learning of the teacher 
may not suffice to insure authority that would have 
good results, if to learning be joined moral qualities, it 
increases the confidence of the pupils in their guide, 
and his influence over them. 

Reciprocal affection between teacher and pupils. The 
devotedness and affection of a teacher for his pupils are 
the great secret of his influence over them. This affec- 



AUTHORITY OF THE TEACHER. 275 

tion, tender without weakness or partiality, generous 
and far-reaching, dilates the heart and triumphs over 
the most obstinate resistance. Children cannot refuse 
their affection to him who devotes himself to them; 
and not only do they love him, and allow him to direct 
them according to his wishes, but they love the school 
and attend regularly because they feel at home there. 

Prudent exercise of authority. The principal qualities 
of authority wisely exercised are mildness, firmness, tact, 
and constancy. 

Mildness, calmness, and moderation in the exercise 
of authority dispose the pupils to obey, and leave the 
rebellious no excuse for their faults. These qualities 
enable the teacher to avoid all injustice and excessive 
severity; they reveal a strength and a nobility which 
subjugate even the most refractory. The teacher must 
also exercise firmness to keep the children from despising 
his authority, and to inspire them with a dread of violat- 
ing regulations. They will, then, fear to offend him 
whom they love, and to draw down upon themselves a 
penalty from which there is no escape in the case of 
wilful fault. But it will not sufhce for him to rule with 
mildness and firmness, if he does not also show tact. 
It is tact — the talent of always doing the most suitable 
thing — which enables him to decide whether he ought 
to act now or later on, to speak or to remain silent; 
and also shows him how far he may go in commanding, 
blaming, or praising, according to the individuals con- 
cerned, their dispositions and the circumstances of time 
and place. Finally, constancy strengthens his authority 
by opposing the changeableness of children, and by re- 
moving all their doubts as to what ought to be done or 
avoided, and as to the certainty of rewards or punish- 
ments. 

Cooperation oj the parents. Without realizing it, chil- 
dren are convinced that the authority of their teacher 
is a delegation of the right and duty of their parents 
to educate them. If then the direction and advice given 



276 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

in school are strengthened by a complete unanimity of 
views in the family, the child will not venture to oppose 
the teacher's directions. But it would be quite other- 
wise if the teachings of the school were weakened by the 
imprudent talk, the indirect complaints, or the formal 
blame of the parents. The formation of character 
would then be compromised, or even rendered im- 
possible. A good understanding between the teacher 
and the parents may be established by the regular and 
careful correction of exercises; by sending weekly or 
monthly reports; and by courtesy in the necessary inter- 
course, and by exhibitions and receptions in school. 

II. — Precautions Against the Weakening of Authority. 

The authority of the teacher may be weakened, or 
even destroyed, by many different causes: some lessen 
the pupil's respect for their teacher, others lead to dis- 
order and want of discipline in school. 

Means to be taken by the teacher to preserve the 
esteem of pupils, i. To prepare his lessons well, and 
thus avoid mistakes, hesitation, etc., which might make 
the pupils doubt his knowledge. 

2. Not to be fickle in opinions, resolutions, and de- 
sires, nor inconstant in the application of means to attain 
an end. 

3. To guard against inconsiderate or uncharitable 
criticisms, want of gravity, dignity, etc. 

4. To repress acts of impatience and bad temper, in 
order to avoid bitter words, sarcastic or violent remarks, 
and inopportune or unjust punishments; and to act and 
speak as if the parents of the pupils were present. 

5. To watch over himself so as not to be guilty of 
lapses in speech, which by repetition might become 
habitual and detrimental. 

6. Not to be too rigorous in exacting duty, nor act 
with the same rigid inflexibility toward all the pupils, 
without being willing to accept a legitimate excuse. 



AUTHORITY OF THE TEACHER. 



277 



7. Not to seek for popularity, especially by conces- 
sions contrary to the regulations. 

8. To show equal devotedness to all, and not to attach 
one's self to any one by special or exclusive friendship. 

9. Not to irritate pupils by a sort of uneasy and sus- 
picious distrust, or by indiscreet inquiries which would 
make them anxious to baffle such vexing supervision. 

10. Above all, to watch over one's self so as not to give 
bad example. 

Means of maintaining order. Experience has shown 
that the following remarks deserve the special attention 
of the teacher: 

1. To arrange the pupils so as to render vigilance easy 
and to prevent disorder: for instance, to place the most 
heedless near himself; to avoid putting a young pupil 
beside a much older one, or two idle or giddy ones 
together, especially if they are at a distance from him. 

2. To prepare the lessons well and give them with 
earnestness, clearness, and in an interesting manner, 
so that the attention of the pupils may be sustained. 

3. To begin the lessons exactly at the time prescribed. 

4. If there be several sections in the class, to keep 
them all busy. 

5. To distribute promptly and with order the copy- 
books that have been examined, the written competitions, 
specimen copies, etc.: perhaps the best way is to have 
the different articles distributed by the first pupil in 
each desk. 

6. To take precautions that the pupils may have the 
class requisites: books, copybooks, pens, etc. 

7. To establish no system of emulation that might 
be an occasion of disorder, noise, or quarrels. 

8. To grant no permission, to answer no question, 
to give no explanation, when asked in a boisterous 
way. When a pupil makes a mistake, and several are 
eager to correct him, to accept the correction from 
those only who have caused no disorder. 

9. To speak but little, and in a low tone; to use the 



278 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

signal properly, and close the doors without unnecessary 
noise. 

10. Rarely to make use of the sign for attention, and 
to avoid using it when the pupils are occupied with their 
lessons. 

11. Not to leave in their possession or under their 
eyes anything calculated to distract their attention. 

12. To inflict no punishment that may disturb good 
order and discipline. 

13. To be prompt in designating the pupil who may 
leave the room, when several ask at the same time. 

14. Not to allow the pupils to talk during the changes. 

15. If the class of which a teacher assumes the man- 
agement is disorderly, he should try to discover the 
causes and remedy them, beginning with the principal 
ones, and passing afterward to those of less importance, 
till all have disappeared. 

Code of signs for use in schools. Except in oral 
lessons, explanations, and interrogations, the teacher 
should be very sparing of his words: the preservation 
of his health and the maintenance of order in the class 
enjoin silence. To facilitate the observance of silence, 
many conventional signs have been established to re- 
place words. In using these signs an instrument called 
a signal is employed. 

The following are some of these signs: 

1. One stroke of the signal serves to call for attention, 
to begin or suspend a lesson, to interrupt a pupil at any 
lesson, or to tell him to continue. 

2. When a reader makes a mistake, the teacher strikes 
the signal twice in succession; the same sign is used 
when the pupils fail in any duty. 

3. To make a sign to read slowly, the signal is struck 
twice, at distinct intervals. 

4. To make a sign to speak louder, the teacher, after 
striking the signal, raises its point vertically; to make 
a sign to speak in a more subdued tone, he lowers it 
toward the ground. 



EMULATION. 279 

5. To suggest less noise in reading or studying, he 
raises the signal to his ear, or strikes once to suspend the 
exercise for a moment. 

6. To change the lesson, the teacher strikes the signal 
three times in succession. 

7. When a pupil holds his pen wrong, his attention 
is railed, and the teacher shows the correct manner. 
To tell an idle pupil to write, the teacher having secured 
his attention, makes the finger motion. 

8. At the end of the writing lesson the teacher strikes 
the signal three times at intervals: at the first stroke, 
copybooks are dried and closed; at the second, they 
are passed to the ends of the desks; at the third, a 
monitor collects the bundles in order. An inverse order 
is followed in distributing the copies at the beginning 
of the lesson. 

9. To correct a defective posture, the pupil's attention 
is called, and the teacher assumes the posture which the 
pupil should take. On all similar occasions, the teacher 
first secures the pupil's attention, and then does what 
he wishes the pupil to do. 

N.B. The code of signals must be thoroughly known 
by teacher and pupils, frequently practised, and always 
in the same manner. 



CHAPTER II. 

EMULATION. 

I. General considerations on emulation. Nature 
and object; necessity and aim. II. Means of exciting 
emulation, (i) Encouragement. (2) Taking places in 
class. (3) Formation of rival camps. (4) Privileges or 
good marks. (5) The weekly and monthly certificates 
of merit. (6) Honorary distinctions: right of requesting 
pardon, medal of honor, inscription on roll of honor. 
(7) Rewards and prizes. 



28o ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 



I. — General Considerations on Emulation. 

Its nature and object. The object of emulation is 
to excite the will of the pupils to perform their duties 
well. It establishes a close but legitimate competition 
among them for the gaining of the best prizes, and the 
highest places in the competitions: this is emulation in 
work; it also excites the heart to the practice of virtue, 
by the sight of virtuous actions: this is emulation in 
virtue. The natural result which emulation ought to 
produce is, not to develop self-love or conceit in the pu- 
pils, and thus foment jealousy, animosity, and division; 
but rather to excite in them intellectual and moral ac- 
tivity, by proposing as motive for their actions, not the 
hope of success and reward only, but the desire to merit 
the approbation of their conscience and of God, as well 
as that of their parents and teachers. 

Its necessity and aim. In a class there is scarcely 
any middle course between emulation in work and virtue, 
and mutual incitement to tumult and disorder. The 
uninterrupted and reciprocal influence of the pupils upon 
one another, determines among them general tendencies 
which drag the majority toward good or evil; the class is 
good or bad according to the nature of these tendencies. 
Emulation in virtue weakens the tyranny of human 
respect among pupils, and inclines them to listen with 
docility to the instructions and advice of the teacher. 
Emulation in work maintains love for study, and thus 
contributes to the development of the faculties, and lays 
the foundation of future success. In order that this 
praiseworthy sentiment of emulation may not deviate 
from its true aim, it must be carefully directed. In 
insisting on the motives which ought to inspire a 
Christian, the teacher should attend to the following 
hints: 

I. He should explain to the pupils that merit does not 
consist in surpassing their fellows, but in surpassing 
themselves by their continual efforts to attain what is 



EMULATION. 28 1 

best: this is a noble emulation, and it is quite exempt 
from danger. 

2. In his decisions he must show that he appreciates 
persevering effort more than success; hence he should 
not give preference to the highly gifted pupils, or punish 
the dull, if they have given proof of good-will and ap- 
plication to work. 

3. He should not give rewards for mere success with- 
out effort on the part of the pupils. 

II.— Means of Exciting Emulation. 

Emulation excites sentiments calculated to aid the 
pupil in the fulfilment of his duties. Its principal ad- 
vantages are, that it makes him accomplish much in a 
short time without undue fatigue, that it renders punish- 
ment rare, and causes the school and the teacher to 
be loved. To judge a means of emulation we must 
examine whether the sentiments it inspires are noble 
and legitimate, whether it is really effective in procuring 
and maintaining order and application, and whether 
it does not occasion undue fatigue or disorder. Any 
means of emulation, however good, fails to produce the 
same effects indefinitely; after a while the pupils become 
habituated to it, and its force is neutralized. It is 
well to have many incentives at one's disposal; to begin 
by the ordinary means, to use the most effective only 
when required, and never discontinue any one until its 
advantages have been exhausted. Although a teacher 
ought to prefer such helps as are calculated to make 
the pupils uniformly and permanently industrious, yet 
he may use temporary expedients; thus, for example, if 
some lessons are to be quickly learned they might be 
given as tests of ability to the entire class. The principal 
means of emulation are: encouragement; the taking of 
places according to merit; competitions and examina- 
tions; promotions to different grades or sections; the for- 
mation of two rival camps or the division of the class 
into contending groups; challenges; privileges or good 



282 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

notes; weekly reports; testimonials of merit; medals of 
honor; inscriptions on the roll of honor; rewards and 
prizes. 

Encouragement. To encourage pupils is one of the 
best means of directing and educating them. The 
principal forms of encouragement are kind words and 
praise. When, in the performance of his daily duties, 
the child gets weary or discouraged, the kind word of 
the teacher gives him fresh strength and confidence. 
Praise excites the feeling of honor; its use is then legiti- 
mate; but certain precautions are necessary to attain the 
desired result, which is to urge pupils to more generous 
efforts. 

1. Praise should be deserved, and proportioned to 
merit. 

2. Praise ought not to be lavished on certain pupils, 
and refused to others equally worthy of it. 

3. When a public eulogium is made, it ought to refer 
to some well-known event which would win the appro- 
bation of even envious pupils. 

4. The teacher must not praise too frequently, and 
he should be careful of the expressions he employs. If 
he praises too often, and with exaggeration, his eulogies 
lose their value; if too rarely or coldly, he is likely to 
discourage. 

5. In praising a pupil it is well to let him understand 
that by new efforts he is capable of attaining still better 
results. 

Taking of places. In those lessons in which the pu- 
pils stand in order of merit, this means may be advanta- 
geously employed: whenever a pupil gains a point over 
a companion, he passes above him. These changes of 
place are used in the lower classes in reading, and in 
all the classes for writing and memory lessons. The 
pupils are thus constantly kept on the alert; competition 
is continuous; and the teacher has an efficacious means 
always at hand for reward or punishment. In employing 
this means, the teacher should avoid: 



EMULATION. 283 

1. Advancing a pupil too many places at once. 

2. Promoting him from one section to another. 

3. Advancing him from motives foreign to the lesson 
in which he competes. 

Rival camps. This is a means of emulation the edu- 
cative value of which is open to discussion. It estab- 
lishes between pupils in the same camp a bond of union 
conducive to industry and order. Even the lazy be- 
come enthusiastic and are stimulated to work. How- 
ever, it is not desirable to encourage too great solidarity 
between the members of a camp, as would be the case 
if all in the losing camp were punished, or if those in 
that camp who had known their lessons well, and 
had tried to maintain good order, were not rewarded. 
Treatment of this kind would be discouraging. How- 
ever, the solidarity must be sufficient; and this may 
be secured in the following way: A closed box with 
an opening in the lid is placed on the teacher's desk. 
Pupils who fail in lessons, or who transgress class 
regulations put a good note in the box. At the end of 
the week, all these good notes are divided among the 
members of the victorious camp. 

The formation and direction of rival camps may be 
regulated as follows: 

1. It is necessary to reconstruct the rival camps and 
change the leaders frequently, choosing those among 
the pupils who know their lessons very well, and who 
have considerable influence with their fellow-pupils. 

2. The rivalry must not be carried so far as to occasion 
quarrels. When too close companionship has been ob- 
served between pupils, they might with advantage, be 
placed in opposite camps. 

3. If any pupils neglect or injure their camp, and 
their companions fear defeat as a result, the leader of the 
affected camp should tell the teacher, who might strike 
their names from the list of competitors. The leader 
of the opposing camp might name an equal number 
of the least loyal of his followers. These last should, 



284 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

however, share in the good notes, if their side is vic- 
torious, provided they have known their lessons. Pupils 
so excluded ought to be questioned more exactly than 
the others in the various lessons. 

Challenges. The challenge is an oral exercise in 
which the pupils that contend for the first place are 
questioned by the other pupils of the grade, or in 
which the pupils successively question one another. 
Previous to a challenge the day and subject are deter- 
mined; all the pupils prepare themselves for it, and 
without going beyond the programme, each arranges 
his questions and prepares answers to them. It is 
necessary to insist that the same question be not put by 
two pupils, and that each pupil know the answer to the 
question he proposes. The subject-matter of a challenge 
generally includes the studies of a fortnight, and some- 
times of a month. Challenges must not be too frequent. 
They might be made chiefly on the truths of religion, on 
history, spelling, grammar, geography, and similar sub- 
jects, and be conducted on the following plans: 

First plan. Five pupils, arranged according to their 
proficiency, go to an appointed place in the class-room, 
to answer successively the other pupils, who in turn 
propose one of the questions they have prepared. If a 
pupil fails, he is excluded. At the end of the contest 
the successful pupils, as well as each of the questioners 
who may have caused an opponent to fail, are rewarded. 

Second plan. The last pupil questions the next in 
place, who answers, and then questions the one above 
him; and so on with the others. When a pupil does not 
know the answer, he requests his rival to give it, and 
puts a question to him in turn. If this pupil cannot 
answer, both keep their respective places; otherwise the 
pupil who gives the two correct answers gains a place. 
Whoever gains most places merits a reward. 

Privileges or good notes. Good notes are certain 
impressions on paper or cardboard, to which given 



EMULATION. 285 

values are attributed. There are privileges of five, ten, 
and twenty ordinary good notes. The teacher ought 
to attach great importance to the good notes, in order 
that the pupils may appreciate them. Privileges of 
ten and twenty should be given very rarely, so as to keep 
in reserve the most efficacious means for times of apathy; 
it would be well not to make use of them till toward the 
close of the school year. If teachers succeed in exciting 
interest in regard to these notes, most beneficial results 
will be produced. The judicious and constant use of 
this means alone will suffice to obtain order and progress. 

Observations, i. The child attaches to good notes an 
importance proportionate to the advantages they pro- 
cure him; if the rewards be insignificant or only very 
remote he will give himself little trouble to merit them. 

2. Good notes are useful to the pupil to enable him to 
participate in the rewards given at the end of each 
month, or every three months; to exempt him from 
some punishment, or to satisfy for certain faults. 

3. The number of notes required to obtain exemp- 
tion from punishment must be moderate. 

4. Except for faults of exceptional gravity, good notes 
ought to be accepted as compensation for punishments 
deserved. 

5. In general, good notes should be distributed at the 
end of each lesson; but in the primary classes they may 
also be given during the lessons, to prevent the inat- 
tention so natural to young children. 

6. Good notes might be given sometimes for success 
and sometimes for diligence, so that both the studious 
and the well-conducted pupils may gain them. 

7. A twofold abuse is to be avoided in the use of good 
notes: to be so parsimonious that pupils cannot gain a 
sufficient number to exempt them from ordinary pun- 
ishments; or so lavish that the children cease to value 
them. 

8. It w^ould be an advantage if the teacher had good 
notes of a particular class, of which he would make use 



286 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

to reward the pupils who were first in the examinations 
and monthly competitions. The pupils who obtained 
and preserved the largest number of these notes might 
compete for special prizes toward the close of the school 
year. 

9. It is necessary to watch certain pupils who are in- 
clined to traffic in good notes, either to acquire them 
for themselves or to barter them to their comrades. 
This may be, in part, prevented by having a different 
color and form for the good notes of each class. ^ 

Weekly certificates. The cooperation of parents be- 
ing indispensable to obtain application and good con- 
duct from the pupils, nothing should be neglected to 
secure it. Among the means that may be employed 
for this end, the most effective are weekly certificates 
and Honorable Mentions. Weekly certificates might be 
of three kinds: Excellent, Good, Fair. Every Friday 
each pupil receives the one which he deserves. These 
certificates are brought back to school on Monday, and 
given to the monitor who has the charge of keeping them. 

Honorable mentions. The pupil who has every week 
received the certificate Excellent is entitled at the end 
of the month to an Honorable Mention, or certificate of 
honor. He who has received during the month more 
certificates marked Good than Fair is entitled to a 
Testimonial of Merit. The teacher should keep account 
of the certificates awarded to each pupil. Honorable 
Mention may be written thus: 

SCHOOL. 

Honorable Mention 

Awarded to in testimony of his 

Good Conduct and Diligence during the month of 

19 

Principal. 

^ A monitor may be put in charge of the good notes. 



EMULATION. 287 

Another form, showing the result of the month's work, 
may be worded as follows: 



SCHOOL. 

This Testimonial of Merit 

Is awarded to of the Class, 

for his Good Conduct and Diligence during the month 

ending 19 He obtained 

per cent. 

Principal. 

The right of requesting pardon. A reward of very 
great moral influence, and one that pupils appreciate 
highly, is the right to solicit for some one of their com- 
rades, an exemption from punishment. This right is 
generally granted only to a pupil who is first for good 
conduct. He may use it only as a request, and when the 
fault to be punished is not very serious. The number 
of exemptions that may be solicited in one week must not 
exceed five. 

The medal of honor. The medal of honor, when its 
use is properly regulated, contributes greatly to the ad- 
vancement of the pupils and the good discipline of the 
class. It should never be granted except for merit, nor 
should it be worn by the same pupil for more than eight 
days. It would be advisable to have, in all classes, a 
medal for each subject of the programme, and, in ad- 
dition, one for good conduct. As it is not the intrinsic 
value of the medal that makes it appreciated by the 
pupils, it ought not to be costly, so that there may not be 
any great expense in case a child should lose it. 

The roll of honor. The names of the pupils who 
observe the school regulations perfectly are written on 
the roll of honor, which is hung up in a conspicuous 
part of the class-room. The pupils who merit such 
inscription are designated by the teacher, after the dis- 



288 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

tribution of Honorable Mentions; they are exempted 
from certain punishments during the month. But if 
any pupil so inscribed commits a grave fault, his name 
should be erased, and from that moment he is to be 
treated like the other pupils. Very few names ought 
to be placed on this roll, and the expunging of a name 
should be of very rare occurrence. 

Rewards and Prizes, 

Methods of distributing rewards. The teacher 
ought to apportion at the end of every month for the 
primary classes, and of every quarter for the others, a 
certain number of rewards. Their total value may be 
proportioned to the number of children, their diligence, 
progress, and good order in class. A teacher who 
wishes to excite emulation among his pupils, and to 
secure progress, ought to give no reward but in ex- 
change for good notes. 

At the end of the month, or quarter, the teacher, 
having fixed upon a day for the distribution of rewards, 
tells the pupils to bring all their good notes in an en- 
velope, on which they should write their names and 
the number of their notes; two or three pupils are ap- 
pointed to verify the correctness of the numbers. 

The rewards being laid on a table, the teacher calls 
the pupils according to the number of their notes. The 
first then advances, and, handing in his good notes, 
selects what pleases him most; the others act in the same 
way. The pupils who may hope to obtain a more valu- 
able reward at another distribution should be free to 
keep their notes. 

Remark. It is sometimes desirable to give as prizes 
class-books, and such instruments as are necessary in 
the study of school subjects. Good notes would be 
much valued by the pupils, if by their means they could 
procure some of the things needed in promotions from 
one grade to another. 



SII£>ERVISI0N. 289 

CHAPTER III. 

SUPERVISION. 

I.— General Considerations on Supervision. 

Its nature and necessity. Supervision is the active 
and unceasing exercise of the solicitude of a teacher to 
preserve his pupils from physical and moral danger, and 
to form their conscience by reminding them of their 
duty. It consists not only in external supervision, 
which confines itself to preventing reprehensible acts 
or punishing them, but also in the immediate influence 
of the teacher who, by his presence, keeps his pupils in 
the accomplishment of their duty. 

Supervision is essential in a school. To enlighten the 
conscience of the child by instruction does not suffice; 
it is necessary to watch over his conduct, in order to 
preserve him against his own weakness, and the per- 
nicious influences to which he might be exposed. It is 
negligence or misplaced kindness to leave pupils without 
supervision, on the pretext of thus exciting their per- 
sonal initiative. Do not abandon the child to his own 
guidance, says the Holy Spirit in the book of Proverbs. 
"Be vigilant over children," writes St. John Baptist 
de la Salle, "for there is no order in a school unless 
the pupils are supervised." Besides, experience proves 
that there is neither morality, piety, discipline, nor 
constancy, in a school where conscientious supervision 
is not maintained. 

Qualities of effective supervision. Supervision to 
be effective should have the following qualities: uni- 
versal, constant, active, foreseeing, firm, calm, upright, 
and discreet. 

Universal supervision. Supervision should be uni- 
versal as regards the children, and as regards their 
actions. Children need to know that they are super- 



290 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

vised. An experienced teacher does not relax his 
attention and solicitude even with children who are 
naturally quiet, or whose piety is exemplary: the gentle- 
ness of the former may sometimes hide violent passions; 
and the budding virtue of the latter deserves all the 
more care, as it makes them more pleasing to God. 
Supervision must vary in method according to the va- 
rious dispositions of the pupils, but it should extend 
to all. 

Constant and active supervision. Constant vigilance 
is necessary, because the invisible enemy who tempts 
them is quick to take advantage of the teacher's in- 
attention. As far as possible, a good superintendent 
does not lose sight of his pupils: their glances, the 
play of their countenances, their movements and bear- 
ing, tell him if their attention is distracted, or if they 
are attempting to break the regulations. The teacher 
should not occupy himself in class with personal work, 
no matter how short, or how little absorbing; and if he 
is obliged to absent himself, he should request a colleague 
to be kind enough to replace him. 

Foreseeing supervision. The better to safeguard the 
pupils, the teacher ought to foresee the occasions in 
which they may attempt to escape control. He should 
so well determine upon everything beforehand, the 
orders to be given, the prohibitions to be made, etc., 
that he may never be taken unawares, or at least only 
very rarely. At the same time he must not have the 
air of making his arrangements with cunning, for certain 
pupils would be only too anxious to baffle his plans. 

Firm and calm supervision. The teacher must re- 
member that he is placed in charge of the pupils not to 
be the passive witness of their insubordination, but to 
prevent it, or repress it with vigor. On the other hand, 
his vigilance should not be uneasy, suspicious, or em- 
barrassed, for that would be irritating to the pupils. 
His constant, watchful care ought to be peaceful and 
calm, without uneasiness or trouble, fear or affectation. 



SUPERVISION. 291 

Upright supervision. Supervision is upright if it has 
none of the worrying characteristics of an over-anxious 
zeal, or suspicious distrust. Without ceasing in his 
vigilant attention to their conduct, a tactful teacher 
lets his pupils know that he does not doubt their up- 
rightness. He does not hide in order to spy on them; 
he has not recourse to any clandestine means irritating 
to upright characters. Far from the pupils ever seeing 
satisfaction in his face when he discovers them in fault, 
they will perceive his regret at having to punish them. 

Justice requires that the teacher should never en- 
courage a system of tale-bearing. Except where a 
child, accomplishing a conscientious duty, tells him of 
a grave fault which causes bad example, the teacher 
should energetically repel all tale-bearers; they are 
generally mean, envious characters, flatterers, or liars. 

Discreet supervision. Supervision cannot, without 
danger or fault, be inquisitorial or slanderous. Let the 
teacher see all that passes in class: but on the one hand, 
let him beware of calling attention to mere nothings; 
and on the other, let him not awaken, by a want of 
circumspection, candid, youthful minds to a premature 
knowledge of evil. He should be very prudent and keep 
silence on anything of importance that the exercise of 
his supervision may have revealed to him; and he may 
mention it only to the person whose duty it is to remedy 
the evil. 

To sum up the obligations of the teacher, in the ex- 
ercise of supervision, his motto ought to be: ''See every- 
thing, prevent many things, and punish few things." 

II. — Exercise of Supervision. 

In class. A careful preparation of lessons enables 
the teacher to give them without being too absorbed by 
book or notes; and if he works at the board or asks 
questions, he is not preoccupied to such an extent as 
to neglect all supervision. While he is speaking, he 



292 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

should require the pupils to hold themselves well, with 
their hands on the desks. During the changes he ought 
to say nothing and allow no one to speak to him; the 
pupils must keep silence in word, and in action: walking 
lightly, opening and closing desks and doors noiselessly, 
placing gently on the desks books, rules, copybooks, 
and other objects which they use. 

The proper placing of pupils in class is an important 
aid in securing good conduct, application to work, and 
effective supervision. As far as possible, thoughtless 
children ought to be placed near the teacher's desk; 
and those whose sight is weak, near the black-board. If 
the pupils are assigned places which they are to occupy 
permanently, the younger should not be mixed up with 
the elder; very giddy pupils should not be put in the 
same desk without separating them from one another 
by serious and attentive children. A pupil of bright 
intellect and kindly disposition might be put beside one 
of quiet character and slow to learn. The positions of 
the pupils may be changed, not only according to the 
monthly examinations, but as often as it seems advis- 
able to do so. 

No pamphlet or book may be brought into the school 
without the permission of the teacher. The pupils 
should be warned that the circulation of a bad book 
is a most serious fault. 

Out of class. The teacher's supervision should fol- 
low the pupils everywhere: during the general changes, 
going to and returning from the yard, at recreation, 
etc. At the general changes the pupils should walk in 
line and keep silence. To supervise well, the teacher 
must always place himself in a position to see as many 
of the pupils as possible. 

Pupils ought not to be allowed to go to the yard 
during lessons. However, the teacher must be careful, 
especially with young children, not to be too strict on 
this point. The absences should be short, and two pu- 
pils of the same class must not be allowed out. at the 



REPRESSION. 293 

same time. If pupils know that the teacher is partic- 
ular about this matter, and if the lessons are suspended 
for a few minutes about the middle of the morning 
and afternoon sessions, when all the pupils are taken to 
the yard, requests to go out will be rare. During the 
recreations, the teacher should always be present and 
carefully watch over the pupils. 



CHAPTER IV. 

REPRESSION. 

I. — General Considerations on Repression. 

Nature and general modes. Repression or correction 
is an act of authority by which the teacher opposes, and 
sometimes punishes, breaches of discipUne, in order to 
prevent their recurrence, and to obtain the amendment 
of the guilty. The duty of correction is incumbent on 
the teacher. He has to guide his pupils in the right 
path, and persuasion is not always sufhcient to hold 
them to their duty. Besides, if he does not correct the 
more notable delinquencies, he runs the risk of seeing 
some of the children take advantage of his weakness to 
violate the rules still more seriously. There are three 
general modes of correction: 

1. The warning or simple reminder of the rule broken. 

2. The threat, that is, a notice of the penalty which 
would follow reiterated faults. 

3. The punishment or penalty inflicted on the pupil, 
to convince him of the necessity of not relapsing into the 
fault. 

Opportuneness of correction. From the fact that 
punishment is a duty for the teacher, it must not be 
concluded that recourse should be had to it for all sorts 
of failings. There are some faults for which it is better 



294 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

not to punish. The teacher should not punish: (i) For 
any fault caused by an excusable ignorance of the 
regulations, as in the case of children newly admitted 
to the school; (2) for want of success in study, when 
otherwise good-will is shown; (3) for a doubtful fault; 
(4) for a fault of which the child spontaneously accuses 
himself, unless he frequently falls into it; (5) for faults 
committed at home, even when the parents request 
him to do so; (6) for small failings in order, silence, 
punctuality, good employment of time, etc., if not 
habitual. 

Failings such as those enumerated deserve only an 
admonition. The observance of this principle would 
maintain discipline, prevent serious faults, and combat 
carelessness. 

The faults to be punished are: persistent idleness, 
habitual want of diligence, teasing and roughness be- 
tween pupils, disobedience, falsehood, murmuring, etc. 



II.— Means of Repression. 

The ordinary means of repression are: admonition, 
reprimand, threat, withdrawal of good notes, giving of 
bad notes, standing apart, tasks, apologizing. Such 
punishments as intimation to the parents, temporary 
dismissal and expulsion, must be made use of by the 
principal only. 

Admonitions. Admonitions are efficacious when 
given with kindness and moderation. It is well to 
maintain a just medium between the too great indul- 
gence which refuses to see all slight faults, and the 
rigor which will not allow the smallest fault to pass 
without calling attention to it. 

Reprimands. Reprimands are severe rebukes ad- 
dressed in public or in private to one or to several 
pupils. They are given by look or word. A repri- 
mand is effective when the teacher is beloved, when he 



REPRESSION. 29 5 

is habitually calm, speaks gently, and is an observer 
of silence. 

Remarks, i. Reprimands should be given with 
calmness, dignity, kindness, firmness, and without 
useless words. 

2. The humiliation caused by a reprimand is salutary 
only when the manner in which it is given makes the 
pupil perceive that he can regain the esteem of the 
teacher. 

3. The teacher, while reprimanding, may exhibit 
severity of countenance, but not anger, resentment, or 
spite. His language must be becoming, neither ironical 
nor insulting; he should carefully avoid every injurious 
epithet, as well as every expression that would reflect 
on the parents. 

4. A pupil must never be left under the sting of a 
reprimand; the teacher ought to make him understand 
that he can correct himself. 

5. Reprimands are more efl&cacious if words of praise 
are spoken to well-behaved pupils, and even to the 
censured pupil for matters in which he has given satis- 
faction. 

6. Reprimands ought not to be given to a large 
number of pupils: general reprimands are ineffective, 
and they give the pupils a dislike for the teacher. 

7. The teacher should avoid indefinite, vague fault- 
finding, and never exaggerate the fault he censures. 

Threats. Threats announce punishment: they should 
never be made without weighty reasons, or without 
having examined if it would be possible and proper to 
carry them out; but they must be carried out if the fault 
sought to be prevented is committed. 

Withdrawal of good notes. The withdrawal of one 
or several good notes is a very efficacious punishment in 
the hands of an experienced teacher. Since good notes 
serve for exemption from tasks and as capital to acquire 
rewards, taking them from pupils who fail to follow the 



296 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

regulations is a very telling penalty. On the other 
hand, as the pupils need only to be diligent in order to 
gain other notes, the punishment does not irritate them, 
if it be moderate. 

Bad notes hold the greater number of the pupils to 
their duty. After being called to order for breaking 
silence, for instance, the teacher marks one or two bad 
notes after the name of the delinquent. Five or six of 
these notes v^ould be sufficient to deprive him of the 
certificate Excellent. At the end of the v^eek the bad 
notes can be cancelled, wholly or in part, by means of 
good notes. 

Standing apart. Sometimes, to punish inattention, 
the pupil should be requested to stand at his place for 
three or four minutes; if he relapses, he might })e sent 
to the middle of the class-room. The teacher may im- 
pose this punishment for any other fault if he judges 
proper, avoiding however its frequent use, as it injures 
discipline. The offender must not be left too long in 
the same position. In some classes, this mode of punish- 
ment is very advantageously employed to punish pupils 
who come late to school. The first who arrives after 
the appointed time stands in a certain place, and re- 
mains there until a second comes to replace him; the 
second waits for the arrival of a third, and so on. 

The teacher should avoid making a pupil stand out- 
side the door of the class-room, because such a measure, 
being a public avowal of weakness or want of control, 
would be injurious to his authority. Besides, at certain 
times, it might injure the pupil's health. 

Tasks. A task means a certain number of lines to 
write or memorize. At the close of school, pupils who 
have received tasks are told the page from which they 
are to copy. At the beginning of the following class 
they must present their tasks. Tasks should be given 
rarely to the same pupil, but the teacher ought to re- 
quire that they be very well written; that the spelling 



REPRESSION. 297 

and punctuation be correct; and that all the lines be 
well filled. If the task be oral, it must be recited 
literally and without hesitation. A task lacking one 
of these qualities should be performed again. 

Apologizing, asking pardon. When a pupil has 
seriously failed in respect to the teacher, he may be re- 
quired to apologize or ask pardon. The form of this 
apology will depend upon the fault committed, as well 
as on the age and dispositions of the pupil. It may be 
public or private according to the nature of the fault. 
The teacher ought to make the act of apologizing as 
easy as possible. 

Intimation given to parents. When a pupil entirely 
neglects his duties, or is absent frequently, or allows 
his tasks to accumulate, the principal should acquaint 
his parents with the fact. 

Temporary dismissal. Temporary dismissal consists 
in forbidding the pupil to return to school until he has 
performed the tasks imposed. This punishment may 
be inflicted only for very serious faults, and even then 
only when the pupil has refused to give satisfaction 
otherwise. The principal should send a note to the 
parents explaining the cause of the dismissal. 

Expulsion. This punishment, which is an extreme 
measure, ought not to be inflicted but for grave reasons. 
The principal should notify the parents in the most 
respectful terms and refrain from announcing the ex- 
pulsion in the school. A principal must not by excessive 
severity force a pupil to leave the school. Expulsion 
must not be resorted to until alter consultation with the 
proper school authorities. 

III.— Conditions That Should Accompany Correction. 

To punish a child is to impose on him a disciplinary 
penalty in order to strengthen his will, to increase his 
sense of responsibility, and thus keep him on his guard 



298 ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY. 

against new faults. To produce these results, correction 
must have certain qualities: some relating to the teacher, 
some to the pupil. 

Conditions relative to the teacher. On the part of 
the teacher, correction should be disinterested, chari- 
table, just, moderate, peaceful, and prudent. 

Disinterested. It ought to be imposed to check in- 
subordination and maintain order. Aversion, revenge, 
or ill-humor must have no part in its infliction. 

Charitable. The teacher ought to have no other end 
in view than to correct and perfect the deHnquent. 
Hence he should never inflict a punishment without 
examining if it will benefit the pupil, and if the same 
results may not be obtained otherwise. All punish- 
ments must be avoided that would serve only to inspire 
the spectators with fear. 

Just. Correction is just if it is inflicted for deliberate 
faults, and not for involuntary failings. Children know 
what they deserve; they know if they are fairly or un- 
fairly treated, and an unjust punishment is no less de- 
moralizing to them than impunity. Justice requires 
also that punishments be apportioned to the gravity of 
the fault, to the age of the pupils, to their moral dis- 
positions and intellectual development. 

Moderate. Punishments should be moderate in 
severity and frequency. The principal means of ren- 
dering punishments infrequent are: (i) To make known 
the school regulations, and explain them to the pupils; 
(2) to exercise active and constant supervision; (3) to 
prepare the lessons well in order to make them interest- 
ing; (4) to follow exactly the daily regulation; (5) not 
to impose a task that is too long or too difficult; (6) not 
to threaten lightly, or give expression to threats that 
cannot be executed; (7) not to threaten many pupils at 
the same time; (8) not to exact anything from a pupil 
when he is under the influence of passion. 



REPRESSION. 299 

Calm. The teacher should never punish when under 
the influence of strong feeling. Pupils soon detect 
when temper and impulse instead of reason dictate the 
punishment; they despise and hate the teacher who is 
guided by passion, and refuse to recognize his claims. 
A prudent teacher will wait until he and the pupil have 
completely regained self-control. Punishment inflicted 
in the heat of passion cannot be well received, nor can 
it produce good results. 

Prudent. Correction to be prudent must be neither 
ludicrous nor too humiliating. In chastising, the aim 
is to maintain order in class; this would not be attained 
if the punishment excited the laughter of the pupils. 
The teacher should give no punishment that might be 
followed by unpleasant consequences. 

Conditions relative to the pupil. Respectful. The 
pupil should receive punishment with submission and 
respect. If a pupil be wanting in respect, it would be 
better by gentle reproof to make him own his fault and 
correct it than to punish him; and even if compelled 
to punish, it would be better to correct the pupil for 
the disorder, scandal, or obstinacy, than for the direct 
offence. 

Voluntary. Correction does not tend to improve the 
pupil unless he accepts it without recrimination or mur- 
muring. 

It is not possible to suppress all punishment in school; 
the inconstancy and heedlessness natural to children 
make them commit faults for which they must be 
checked. But if corrections are given and received 
with the dispositions mentioned above, they will become 
less frequent; for, according to St. John Baptist de la 
Salle, ''the pupils will profit by them, and God will 
give His blessing." 



INDEX 



Absence: Causes of, 37; means of pre- 
vention, 37; to be reported, 36. 

Admission of Pupils: By whom, 35; 
conditions of, 35; into proper grades, 
35- 

Admonitions: Value of, 294; when use- 
ful, 294. 

Agriculture: Aim of, 255; museum for 
instruction, 256; lessons in, 256. 

Analysis: Value of, 70; experimental, 70; 
vs. synthesis, 70; union of both, 72. 

Apologizing: When required, 297; how 
done, 297; teacher's part in, 297. 

Apprehension: Definition, 14. 

Arithmetic: Considerations and prin- 
ciples, 217; method in, 218; mental, 
221; lesson in, 223; fundamental rules, 
227; oral vs. written, 218; problems, 
choice of, 230; manner of solving, 232; 
suggestions regarding, 231. 

Association of Ideas: Principles relat- 
ing to, 1 1 ; kinds of, net seq. ; practical 
advice, 12; aids to, 11. 

Attendance, 36. 

Attention: Effect of will on, 25; defini- 
tion of, 8; reflection in, 8; necessity of, 
8; not call too often, 8; how main- 
tained, 8; principles relating to, 8. 

Authority: Of teacher, 274; foundations 
of, 274; means to preserve, 276. 

Bell-ringer: Duties of, 44. 

Black-board: Necessity and value of, 
34; kinds of, 74; uses, 74; sketch, 167. 

Book-keeping: Use of, 152; methods of 
teaching, 152, 153. 

Books: Care of, 42; exercise, 42; cor- 
rections of exercises, 75; for use of 
teacher, 62. 



Catechism: Methods in teaching, 98; 
by pictures, 102; defects to be avoided, 
104; for First Communion, 103; after, 
103; counsels relating to, 104; love of 
religion by means of, 106; to children 
who carmot read, 102; in form of 
stories, 119. 

Camps: Formation of, 283; rival, 
utihty of, 283. 

Certificates: Uses of, 286; kinds of, 286. 

Challenges: Method of emulation, 284; 
how conducted, 284. 

Chant: Liturgical, 260; plain, 260. 

Characters: Kinds, 25; effect of will on, 
25; defective, results of, 26; types of, 
26. 

Child: Dignity of, 19; social inclina- 
tions of, 19; imitative, 4; sympathy 
and friendship, 20; model for, 4; per- 
fectible nature, 3; influences surround- 
ing. 3- 

Conferences: Pedagogical, use of, 81; 
how conducted, 82. 

Concept: Conception, 14. 

Cleanliness: Necessity of, 42; of class, 
43; inspection of, 42. 

Conscience: Definition of, 22; purpose 
of, 23; training of, 22; value of, 22; 
means of forming, 23; duty in regard 
to, 23. 

Con\dctions: Christian, 28. 

Consciousness: Definition, 22. 

Composition: Plans in, 190; general 
ideas of, 177; subjects for, 182; methods 
of, 178 etseq.; corrections, 184; letters 
in, 180. 

Contrition: Lesson on, 112-114. 

Conjugations: Exercises on, 170. 

Curiosity: Use of, 18; how disciplined, 19 



301 



302 



INDEX 



Corrections: Conditions on part of 
teacher, 298; conditions on part of 
pupil, 299. 

Corridors: Use of, 31. 

Definitions: Qualities of, 86; use of, 86. 

Desks: Kinds of, 33; arrangements of, 
33. 

Deportment: During lessons, 41. 

Dictation: Value of, 171; methods in, 
171; choice of, 173; corrections, speci- 
mens, 174-176. 

Discipline: Necessity, 273. 

Diseases: Contagious, 5. 

Dismissal: Hours of, 36; manner of, 
36; temporary, of child. 297. 

Door-keeper: Duties of, 45. 

Draughts: To be avoided, 5. 

Drawing: Principles and methods in, 
241-245; models for, 243; in the 
grades, 246; imitation, 249; geometri- 
cal, 250. 

Drill, Physical: Principles relating to, 
267. 

Duties of Pupils: Toward teacher, 39; 
toward companions, 40. 

Education: Definition of, i; unity and 
complexity of, 2; necessity of, 2; what 
it is to educate, 3; principles relating 
to, 3; foundations of, 3; kinds of, 6-10; 
recommendations, 4. 

Educator: Aim of, 3. 

Emulation: Nature and aim of, 280; 
means of, 281-285; value of, dangers 
of, 20. 

Employments: Certain, given to pupils, 
44. 

Entrance: Of teacher, 35; of pupils, 35. 

Extracts: Uses of, 185; method of ex- 
plaining, 187-188. 

Explanation: Of texts, 99. 

Expulsion: When, 297; by whom, 297 

Examples, 100. 

Faults: To be warned of, 27; to avoid, 

27. 
Feelings: Effect of will on, 25. 
Furniture: Of class, 32. 



Geography: Principles relating to, 208; 
methods in teaching, 209; plan of 
lessons, 214-216; apparatus for, 209; 
in grades, 211; map drawing, 21©; 
faculties developed by, 208. 

Geometry: Utility, 236; suggestions 
and specimen lessons, 236-239. 

Gospel: How to teach, 109; of Sunday 
no. 

Grades: Number in school, 54; num- 
ber in class, 55; arrangement of, 55. 

Grammar: In the grades, 164; sjjeci- 
men lessons, 165-169; faculties to be 
developed by, 156; general observa- 
tions, 161. 

Gymnastics: Considerations on, 268; 
teaching of, 269-270. 

Habit: In regard to duty, 27. 

Hearing: Training of, 7. 

History: Lessons in sacred, 109; prin- 
ciples to be followed, 199; adapted to 
grades, 201; plan of notes, 204; use 
of maps in, 203; mural engravings for, 
109; lesson in profane, 201; use of, 
204. 

Hygiene: Of the senses, 4-7; precau- 
tions, 4. 

Hymns: Remarks regarding, 261. 

Ideas: Definition and laws of, 14. 

Imagination: Definition of, 13; how to 
train, 13; dangers of, 14; principles, 
13; effect of will on, 25; governing, 
13; what to avoid, 13. 

Imitation: Instinct of, 19; necessity of 
models, 19; dangers of, 20. 

Inclinations : Personal, 18 ; social, 
sources of, 19; higher, 21; manifesta- 
tion of, 19. 

Instruction, Religious: Necessity of, 94; 
faculties developed by, 94 et seq. 

Instinct: vs. Inclinations, 18; of self- 
preservation, 18; of happiness, 18. 

Intimation given to parents, 297. 

Influences that concur in education, 3. 

Judgment: Definition of, training of, 
14. 



INDEX 



303 



Kindergarten: Gifts used, 251-254. 

Language: Teacher's, 85; faculties de- 
veloped by, 156; principles relating to, 
157; analysis in, 163; methods of teach- 
ing, 157 et seq. ; object lessons a help 
in, 158. 

Lesson: Preparation for, 84; teacher's 
language in, 85; kinds of, 84-85; in 
different grades, 85; procedure in, 85; 
questions diu-ing, 84; object, 193-196; 
introduction of, 86; definitions in, 86; 
on sign of the Cross, no et seq. 

Letters: Practice for composition, 
180. 

Liberty: Cultivation of, 19; vs. inde- 
pendence, 19. 

Library, School: Necessity for, 34; how 
to be used, 34; in connection with 
Reading Circle, 34. 

Light: Direction of, 33. 

Love: Of God, 22; of the good, 21; of 
country, 21; necessity for, 21-22; for 
duty, 22; of activity and hberty, 19. 

Memory: Definition of, training of, 9; in 
childhood, 9; kinds of, 10; how to 
improve, 10; verbal vs. intellective, 
10; repetition and interest, aids to, 12; 
literal study for, 89; importance of 
exercise, 90. 

Memorial: What it contains, 62. 

Methods: Definitions, 66; kinds of, 67; 
examples of, 67. 

Medal of Honor: When used, 287; 
kinds of, 287. 

Mention, Honorable: Form of, 286; 
how used, 286. 

Merit: Testimonial of, 287. 

Modes of teaching, 65; definition, 66; 
kinds of, 66; obsolete, 66; value of 
simultaneous, 65. 

Monitors: Duties of, 44; complaints 
against, 44; conduct of, 44. 

Museums: Utility, kinds of, 33; speci- 
mens found in, 33. 

Music: Principles relating to, 259; in 
the grades, 264; hints for lesson in, 
265; dictation for, 266; secular, 262 



Object Lessons: Specimens of, 194, 
195; adaptation of, 196-198. 

Order: In what it consists, 38; means 
of maintaining, 277. 

Orthography: Methods in, 170 — see 
dictation. 

Pardon: Requesting, how, when, 287. 

Patriotism: Definition, 21; true, 21; 
how inculcated, 21. 

Physical Education: Principles of, 4. 

Playground: Necessity, 32; size of, 32; 
supervision in, 32; care of, 32. 

Piety, Christian: In youth, 28; guaran- 
tee of, 29. 

Prayers: To be known by heart, 108; 
study of, 108; manner of teaching, 
108; recitation of, 108. 

Preparation of Lessons: Necessity of, 81; 
kinds of, 81; manner of, 83. 

Process: Heuristic, 70; intuitive, 73; 
of teaching, 73; experimental, 73; oral 
and written, 74. 

Precautions: Hygienic, 4. 

Privileges: Definition, 284; uses of, 
284. 

Programmes: Subjects of, 57 ; subdi- 
visions, 57; adaptation to classes, 58. 

Questions: Teacher's, 76; examination, 
76-78; qualities of, 77; necessity of, 
76; in each lesson, 77; answers to, 77. 

Reading : Simultaneous. 128 ; sugges- 
tions regarding, 128, 131; model, by 
teacher, 133; word reading, 131; ex- 
planation of texts, 132, 134; methods 
of, in elementary grades, 127. 

Reasoning: Laws relating to, 15; 
methods of, 16. 

Recapitulations: Necessity for, 78-80; 
manner of, 79; at end of year, 80. 

Relations: Aid in association of ideas, 
1 1 ; kinds of, 11. 

Reflection: Definition of, 8; training 
of, 8. 

Registers: Various kinds, 61-63. 

Repression: Nature of, 293; laws re- 
lating to, 294. 



304 



INDEX 



Reprimands: Remarks relating to, 295; 

rarely to be given, 295. 
Rewards: Utility of, 288; methods of, 

288; material for, 288. 
Room: Cloak, 5; class, 5. 

Sense, Good: Principles relating to, 15. 

Sentence: Complex, 169. 

Sensibility, Moral: Education of, 16; 
means to train, 19; passions in, 17; 
inclinations in, 18; why given to man, 
17- 

School: Material organization of, 31-34; 
opening of, 35. 

Science, Elementary: Use of, 191; meth- 
ods in, 191; object lessons in, 191; sub- 
jects for, 192; specimen lessons in, 194. 

Shorthand: Utility of, 153; methods in 
teaching, 153. 

Sight: Training of, 7. 

Singing: Principles relating to, 259; 
educational value of, 260; lesson in, 
262. 

Signs: Code of, in class, 278. 

Silence: Necessity, 41; rules regarding, 
41. 

Studies: Textual, 91; explanations of, 
89; after lesson, 88; before lesson, 88; 
methods, 91; text-book, 88; auditory 
methods in, 91; recitations of, 92; of 
selections, 93. 

Supervision : Nature of, 289 ; necessity of, 
289; qualities of, 289; exercise of, 291. 

Sweeping: By whom, 45. 

Symjxithy: Definition of value of, 20; 
exclusive, 20. 



Tasks: Meaning of, 296; uses of, 296; 
quahties of, 297. 

Taste and Touch: Training of, 7. 

Teaching : Definition of, 47 ; characteris- 
tics of good, 50-54; text-book, 88; 
oral, 88; aim of, 48; considerations 
on, 47; defects in, 52. 

Teacher: Model for pupils, 4. 

Temperature: In class, 5. 

Time-Tables: Utility, 58; specimen for 
classes, 59-61. 

Typewriting, 156. 



Vacation: Regulations for, 37. 

Vaccination, 5. 

Ventilation, 5. 

Virtues: To be practised, 27; infused, 

29; how inculcated, 29. 
Vigilance: Importance of, 24. 



Will: Definition of, 24; kinds of, 24; in- 
fluence on activity, 24; on senses, 24; 
influence on character, 25; education 
of, 25; means to use, 26; practical ap- 
ph cation of, 27. 

Windows, 32. 

Work, Manual: Advice relating to, 254; 
uses of, 255. 

Writing: Principles to be followed, 144; 
lesson, 146; characteristics of good, 
148; defects in, and causes of, 149; 
correction of, 149-151; general re 
marks on, 151; on black-board, 145; 
notes of a lesson in, 147. 



PEC 26 1905 



